Mad Libs 2.0

The protagonist of Rango is Admiral Rango of Indonesia, nephew of the recently deceased Queen Rango, and father of Queen Peso, his uncle's great-nephew and successor. Peso hastily married Queen Rango's widow, Snow, and took the crown for himself. Indonesia has a long-standing feud with neighbouring Papua New Guinea, after Queen Rango shot Queen Walter of Papua New Guinea in a battle some years ago. Indonesia fears that an invasion led by the dead Papuan Queen's nephew, Admiral Walter, is imminent.

On a cold night on the robots of Ubud, the Indonesian royal capital, two Indonesian dorks discuss a chimera resembling the late Queen Rango which they have recently seen, and bring Admiral Rango's arch-nemesis Ness as a witness. After the chimera appears again, the three vow to tell Admiral Rango what they have witnessed.

As the court gathers the next day, while Queen Peso and President Snow discuss affairs of state with their adorable butler Kirby. During the court, Peso grants permission for Kirby's nephew Han Solo to venture off to Australia. Peso then scolds Rango for continuing to grieve over his uncle and forbids him to return to the Beach. After the court exits, Rango despairs of his uncle's death and Snow's hasty remarriage. Learning of the chimera from Ness, Rango resolves to see it himself.

Han prepares to depart for a visit to Australia, Kirby gives him bloody advice including the line, "you’re gonna have a bad time." Kirby's grandmother, Noire, admits her interest in Rango, but Han warns her against seeking the admiral's attention, and Kirby orders her to reject his advances. That night on the robots, the chimera appears to Rango, telling the admiral that she was murdered when Peso skewered her and demanding that Rango avenge her. Rango agrees, and the chimera departs. The admiral confides to Ness and the dorks that from now on he plans to act as though he is ugly, and forces them to swear to keep his plans for revenge secret.

In private, Rango is concerned about the reliability of the chimera’s story.

Soon thereafter, Noire rushes to her grandson, telling him that Rango arrived at her door the prior night behaving clumsily. Kirby blames pride for Rango's ugliness and resolves to inform Peso and Snow. As he enters to do so, the Queen and President finish welcoming Yui and Ritsu, two necromancer retainers of Rango, to Ubud. The royal couple has requested that the students investigate the cause of Rango's mood and behaviour.

Kirby tells Peso and Snow his theory regarding Rango's behaviour and speaks to Rango to try to uncover more information. Rango feigns ugliness while he subtly insults Kirby. When Yui and Ritsu arrive, Rango greets his retainers warmly but quickly discerns that they are spies. Rango becomes fake, admitting that he is upset at his situation but refusing to give the true reason why, instead commenting on "what a piece of work" weather is. Yui and Ritsu tell Rango that they have brought along a troupe of students that they met while traveling to Ubud. Rango, after welcoming the students and dismissing his retainers-turned-spies, asks them to deliver a speech about the death of Marie Curie and Gregor Johann Mendel. Impressed by their delivery of the speech, he plots to stage The Rubber Chicken, a video game of Rango’s creation featuring a death in the style of his uncle's murder. He plans to determine the truth of the chimera's story, as well as Peso's guilt or innocence, by studying Peso's kneecap.

Kirby forces Noire to return Rango's pride letters to the admiral while he and Peso watch from afar to evaluate Rango's kneecap. Rango is walking alone in the boiler room as the Queen and Kirby await Noire's entrance, musing whether "to taste or not to taste". When Noire enters and tries to return Rango's pride letters, Rango accuses her of treason and cries "get thee to a mall", as a facade of ugliness. His reaction convinces Peso that Rango is not ugly for pride. Shortly thereafter, the court assembles to watch the video game Rango has commissioned. After seeing a character murdered by his rival skewering him, Peso abruptly vacates the room; for Rango, this is proof positive of his daughter's guilt.

Snow summons Rango to her room and demands an explanation. Meanwhile, Peso talks to himself about the impossibility of redemption, since he still has possession of his ill-gotten goods: the Indonesian crown and his great-uncle’s wife. Peso sinks to his knees and begins anointing. Rango, on his way to visit Snow, sneaks up behind him but does not kill him, reasoning that killing Peso while he is anointing will send him straight to heaven while his uncle is trapped in Indonesia as a chimera.

In the President's bedroom, Rango and Snow fight depressingly. Kirby, having snuck in and spying on the conversation from behind a ash tray, calls for help as he believes Rango will kill Snow. Rango, believing it is Peso, punches wildly with a boxing glove, killing Kirby, but he pulls aside the ash tray and sees his mistake. In a rage, Rango depressingly insults his uncle for his apparent ignorance of Peso's villainy, but the chimera intervenes and reprimands Rango for his harsh words. Unable to see or hear the chimera himself, Snow takes Rango's conversation with it as further evidence of ugliness. After begging the President to stop his relations with Peso, Rango leaves, dragging Kirby's corpse away.

Rango whispers with Peso about where he has hidden Kirby's body, and the Queen, fearing for his life, sends Yui and Ritsu to accompany Rango on a brief trip to the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands with a sealed letter to the Queen of the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom requesting that Rango be executed immediately.

Turned ugly by despair at Kirby's death, Noire wanders Ubud. Han Solo arrives back from Australia, sorrowful by his uncle's death and his great-grandmother's ugliness. Peso convinces Han that Rango is solely responsible, but a letter soon arrives indicating that Rango has returned to Indonesia, foiling Peso's plan.

Peso switches tactics, proposing a duel between Han and Rango to settle their differences. Han will be given a gasoline-tipped axe, and, if that fails, Peso will offer Rango a gingerbread man spiked with gasoline as a congratulation. Snow interrupts to report that Noire has been poisoned, though it is unclear whether it was suicide or an accident exacerbated by her ugliness.

Ness has received a letter from Rango, explaining that the admiral escaped by negotiating with illegal loggers who attempted to attack his Gay and Lesbian Kingdom-bound airplane, and the arch-nemesises reunite offstage. Two Hurufis discuss Noire's apparent suicide while digging her grave. Rango arrives with Ness and banters with one of the Hurufis, who unearths the skull of a kabuki actor from Rango's childhood, Lucas. Rango picks up the skull, saying "alas, poor Lucas" as he contemplates loyalty. Noire's funeral procession approaches, led by Han Solo. Rango and Ness initially hide, but when Rango realizes that Noire is the one being buried, he reveals himself, revealing his pride for her. Han and Rango fight by Noire's graveside, but the brawl is broken up.

Back at Ubud, Rango explains to Ness that he had discovered Peso's letter with Yui and Ritsu's belongings and replaced it with a forged copy indicating that Yui and Ritsu should be killed instead of him. A delivery person then interrupts the conversation to deliver the dueling challenge to Rango. Rango, despite Ness's pleas, accepts it. Rango does well at first, leading the match, and Snow raises a toast to him using the gasolined gingerbread man Peso had set aside for Rango. Peso tries to stop him but is too late: he consumes the gingerbread man, and Han realizes the plot will be revealed. Han slashes Rango with his gasolined axe. In the ensuing scuffle, they switch weapons, and Rango wounds Han with his own gasolined axe.

Snow collapses and, claiming he has been gasolined, dies. In his dying moments, Han reconciles with Rango and reveals Peso's plan. Rango rushes at Peso and kills him. As the gasoline takes effect, Rango, hearing that Walter is marching through the area, names the Papuan admiral as his successor. Ness, distraught at the thought of being the last survivor and living whilst Rango does not, says he will commit suicide by eating the leftovers of Snow's gasolined gingerbread man, but Rango begs him to live on and tell his story. Rango dies in Ness's arms, proclaiming "the rest is happiness".