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Context ShoutOut / Rango

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1* The teaser poster calls to mind the poster for ''Literature/FearAndLoathingInLasVegas''. And the driver of one of the cars Rango hits towards the beginning is none other than the [[Creator/HunterSThompson Good Doctor]] himself. Complete with his sidekick.
2* Rango's situation is a nod to Creator/TheBrothersGrimm tale of ''Literature/TheBraveLittleTailor'', including the "killing seven with one blow" detail.
3* [[Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus "That hawk... is dead!"]] [[spoiler: No, he's not! He's just sleeping!]]
4* The sheriff's outfit Rango wears for most of the film looks like what Gary Cooper wears in ''Film/HighNoon''.
5* The Spirit of the West [[spoiler:is the [[Film/DollarsTrilogy Man with No Name]].]] Rango even spells it out!
6* An obscure (and somewhat random) one: in the sheriff's building, when Beans, Rango, and Wounded Bird are talking, one the wanted posters on the wall offers a reward (in water, of course) for the capture of [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Disco Lovejoy]].
7* One member of Bad Bill's gang is a hunchbacked rabbit with a German accent named [[Creator/KlausKinski Kinski]].
8* Rango hides from Metalbeak [[Franchise/JurassicPark in an outhouse before the hawk demolishes it]].
9* The scene with the hawk's feet protruding from the gravel, followed by the doctor declaring it dead, is reminiscent of the death of the Wicked Witch of the East in ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''.
10%%* Anyone else think of ''Film/RaisingArizona'' when Rango was running from the hawk? Even the music gets into the act, plus when the... moles? rats? Whatever they are (WordOfGod calls them the "Inbred Rodents") first emerge to look for the bank.
11* The big action setpiece featuring Balthazar's clan is a mishmash of ''Film/{{Deliverance}}, Film/ApocalypseNow, Film/MadMax2TheRoadWarrior, Franchise/StarWars'', and most likely more. Especially to ''The Road Warrior'', in that in both films, the cargo vehicle the heroes are driving and the bandits are carrying [[spoiler:turns out to be empty.]]
12* WordOfGod states that Rango in general is meant to be a reference to Don Knotts in ''Film/TheShakiestGunInTheWest'', while the "only one bullet" references Knotts' most famous character, [[Series/TheAndyGriffithShow Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife]]; the mayor's characterisation and EvilPlan heavily references Noah Cross from ''Film/{{Chinatown}}'' (he even says "the future, Mr. Rango! The future!") and the fate of [[spoiler:Fluffy Joe]] is eerily similar to that of Hollis Mulwray's; Rattlesnake Jake is an allusion to Lee Van Cleef in ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly''; and the hawk that attacks Rango towards the beginning is a reference to Lee Marvin in ''Film/CatBallou'', featuring the same metal piece on his nose. [[ReferenceOverdosed Whew]].
13* Hans Zimmer's music evokes Music/EnnioMorricone's work with Creator/SergioLeone... complete with reusing a Morriconian-like track from ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd''. You can also hear a very familiar [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUbAmR3sOBA riff]] from Music/ElmerBernstein's ''[[Film/TheMagnificentSeven1960 The Magnificent Seven]]''.
14* The toad Rango runs into trying to disguise himself as a rock gives his last words almost the same as Tuco from ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'', complete with censor sound.
15-->'''Toad:''' YOU SON OF A ''[SCREECH]''!
16* The toad sounds A LOT like [[WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpy Ren Hoek]]. It IS a Nickelodeon movie.
17* [[MilesGloriosus "Stand aside: I take large steps!"]]
18* Rango calls Priscilla "little sister", recalling ''Film/TrueGrit''.
19* With the hat, lance, and pennant, Roadkill the Armadillo evokes Literature/DonQuixote.
20* When Rango has his first showdown outside of the saloon, the squeaking of the windmill sounds exactly like the one at the beginning of ''Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest''.
21* During the credit slideshow, the mariachi owl with the electric guitar [[Music/JimiHendrix smashes it then burns the pieces while worshiping them]].
22* Rattlesnake Jake appears to have the [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings eyes of Sauron]].
23* At one point in the film, Rattlesnake Jake, voiced by Bill Nighy, says "Make your move". [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean There's another movie with Johnny Depp where he plays the villain and says "Make your move" at one point]]. And in both movies, Bill Nighy threatens to steal Johnny Depp's soul.
24* When Spoons yells "CAW! CAW!" as the "signal", it calls to mind ''Film/GalaxyQuest''.
25* When Priscilla points out the previous sheriff's tombstone, there's a grave in the background that reads [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries "He's Dead, Jim"]]. Also Waffles says "I am sensing hostility!" (while being attacked by the moles), which is likely a spoof of [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Councillor Troi]].
26* The mole family erupting out of the ground arms-first is a nod to ''Film/TheReturnOfTheLivingDead''.
27* The marks drawn in the sky with a flaming stick that Rango uses to describe his "quest" include a [[Franchise/StarWars TIE fighter]] and the Music/{{KISS}} logo.
28* When Rango goes to the Bank of Dirt after the townspeople learn that the bank has nearly no water left, it resembles a similar, famous scene from ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife''.
29* During the Sunset Shot, Rango gives a speech in the style of UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill.
30* While tossing out cliched life advice to a youngster, Rango includes "burn everything but Shakespeare", a line from the play ''Theatre/TheSkinOfOurTeeth''.
31* The mariachi owls singing about how Rango will be injured in various ways, including the loss of his "cojones", are reminiscent of Sir Robin's minstrels in ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail''.
32* The end credits are rendered in precisely the style of ''Series/TheWildWildWest''.
33* The town's physician is a [[WesternAnimation/BugsBunny rabbit named "Doc".]]
34* During the scene where Rango and the armadillo follow the walking cacti across the desert to find out where the water went, one of them collapses, referencing the "Rite of Spring" segment from ''{{WesternAnimation/Fantasia}}''. They're also reminiscent of another, more menacing [[Literature/TheDayOfTheTriffids species of "walking trees".]]
35* The scene where Rango walks into the saloon, orders some water, and is told by the bartender "Cactus juice, that's what we got," is almost frame-for-frame out of the part in ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'' when Marty walks into a saloon in 1885 and asks for ice water.
36* One of the recruits in Rango's posse has an arrow in his left eye, and he's a [[Film/TrueGrit rooster]].
37* Influences cited by director Gore Verbinski were ''Film/ElTopo'', ''Anime/HowlsMovingCastle'', Alex Cox's ''Film/RepoMan'' and ''Straight to Hell'', and ''Film/ThreeAmigos''.

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