PLOT: A chameleon (Depp) that aspires to be a swashbuckling hero finds himself in a Western town plagued by bandits and is forced to literally play the role in order to protect it.
CAST: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher (Confessions of a Shopaholic), Timothy Olyphant ("Justified"), Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Ray Winstone
VERDICT: Like radio, animated voiceovers used to be reserved for the beauty-challenged and the barely employed. Just in the last few years, though, producers have been trying to score bigger and bigger names, from America Ferrara (How to Train Your Dragon) to Brad Pitt (Megamind). Now they've managed to get Depp behind the mic. It's a draw, but not the biggest incentive. I like that it's a Western. I like that the design isn't glossy or cute. I like that animals that aren't usually included in animated films are front-and-center. And I like the accents. But what really got me interested was that, like the cast of Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox, Gore Verbinski had his cast physically act out the story on a soundstage. That just adds to the coolness.
Release Date: March 4
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