Beloved Johnny Depp Movie Leaving Netflix

Rango, the 2011 movie that reunited Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl director Gore Verbinski with franchise star Johnny Depp and supporting actor Bill Nighy, is leaving Netflix today. The animated film was a modest box office success on its release, making around $245 million off a $135 million budget but disappointing relative to expectations, since Depp and Verbinski’s Pirates partnership had been such a huge win at the box office in the years leading up to its release. It has since gone on to be a fan-favorite, in part because it has pretty much always been easy to access for cheap or free. 

Rango was one of a number of movies that Vudu gave away to new subscribers in the years after it came to home video. It has also been on Netflix more or less consistently in that time.

Today is the last day to watch Rango on Netflix. It seems likely the movie will be streaming for free somewhere soon, but at present we don’t know where it’s going next. It is also available to rent or buy on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital.

According to the film’s official synopsis, a chameleon (Johnny Depp) who has lived as a sheltered family pet finds himself in the grip of an identity crisis. Rango wonders how to stand out when it is his nature to blend in. When he accidentally winds up in a frontier town called Dirt, he takes the first step on a transformational journey as the town’s new sheriff. Though at first Rango only role-plays, a series of thrilling situations and outrageous encounters forces him to become a real hero.

The movie marks a rare animation appearance for Depp, who has provided a few voice cameos here and there, and voiced Captain Jack Sparrow in a 2006 video game, but only has one other feature-length animation role that we can recall. The actor played Victor Van Dort in Mike Johnson and Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride in 2006.