It was far better than I expected.

The story was nearly Pixar quality... nearly.
All the tropes of a great western were there, as were the familiar western stereotypes. The real weakness of the story was caused by the sheer number of characters. Several characters could have been combined to give the story more focus and a stronger final act.

The characters themselves were brilliantly done.
Depp's Rango was a frenetic con-man. The voice acting reminded me a lot of George Cloony who does this kind of character perfectly. I usually think of Depp as an extension of the odd characters he plays, so to say that he is Cloony-esque is actually a compliment to his range as an actor.

Ned Beatty was THE best performance in my opinion. The Mayor was obviously based off James Coburn, both in voice and in character design. Until I remembered that he died, I thought it was him. The strenth of Beatty's performance isn't just that he could imitate Coburn. The Mayor dripped sleaze out of every pore. He was just so much fun to listen to.

Bill Nighy's Rattlesnake Jake was so deadly scary that it was a shame that he didn't have more screen time. Again, his character could have absorbed a couple of other characters easily.

Camera work ranged from "could only be done in a computer" to "iconic western". The shot that stands out in my mind framed rango between broken bottles hanging from strings. It was the kind of obstructed shot that epitomizes the stylistic shooting style that permeated westerns from the mid to late 60s.

Zimmerman did an excellent job of emulating Morricone on the soundtrack. I'm sure many people will assume that it was Ennio Morricone, but the balance between sparse and lush wasn't quite up to his quality.

I'll have to see this one again to judge it more accurately, but...
First impression- 4/5

It was basically a mash up of his kids show and his original 1981 special.

One new bit that made me laugh was his abstinence ring.

Candy

Candy from Donald Doss on Vimeo.

This game still holds up pretty well.
I will be beating my son to bits this weekend.

Nathan posted a video of a poem called Bluebird. It got me to thinking about artist as art.
I think the greatest disservice to creative minds is when they are convinced by others that they themselves are inexorably tied to their work. They get all the credit and all the responsibility for the work. That pressure breaks any artist that tries to carry the weight of it. I think the artists that do make it through, that seem to have the happiest lives, are the ones that have found a way of releasing themselves from those ties.

When you are very young, you are at the happiest creative period in your life. You can spend an entire day drawing a picture. When you're done you can walk away. Mom can hang it on the fridge. You could give it to a stranger that caught your fancy. It can sit with a pile of papers until it is thrown out. As a child, you were as unattached to the product of creation as you were the source. As creative adults, we try to seek the source, trick our way into its heart. It rarely works. You can't force creativity. All that is left is for us to work, and hope that the creative spark shows up.