"When did Johnny Depp start voicing animated movies?" I asked my myself. As the opening credits for Rango flashed across the screen, I thought, "It's going to be a long two hours."

Rango presents a lackluster, droll film about a lizard attempting to save a town inhabited by various desert animals from a drought. The antagonist changes six times throughout the course of the movie and nothing really flows. For example, a gaggle of ostriches ride by in the middle of the Mojave Desert, then the main characters are in a cave, and in the next scene they're eating marshmallows on a hill. The animation was also choppy and antiquated.

It was rather odd to see Johnny Depp, best known as Captain Jack, and Isla Fisher, the cinema's resident "shopaholic," lend their voices to the benefit of animation.

Much to the dismay of every Johnny Depp fan, the movie is evidently directed toward younger audiences. So parents and babysitters, bring a book and a reading light. Kids — you're going to love it (especially the wide-eyed squirrel with Wednesday Addams pigtails).

Charlotte Smart is a junior at Santa Fe Secondary School. You can reach her at charchar@cybermesa.com.