7. Rango 2
Director Gore Verbinski put his name on the map with the release of his third film, The Ring, back in 2002, and then got his hands on the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy - the rest is history. Verbinski took a break from big budget, live-action films and turned his sights to an animated passion project, Rango, which garnered critical acclaim upon release in 2011 and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Rango tells the story of a domesticated chameleon who gets stranded from his owners and finds himself in the middle of the Nevada desert. He stumbles upon the town of Dirt, which is in desperate need of a new sheriff. The film is wildly entertaining, delivers fantastic voice work from its cast, and is one of the most unique and beautifully-animated films in recent memory. It was a brilliant homage to the western genre whilst also acting as a great western of its own, and Rango's continued adventures as the sheriff of Dirt could easily be explored in a sequel. Though the first film was a success, Verbinski hasn't been quick to jump on board for a second outing, stating that - though he's interested in making more animated films - he has other ideas he'd like to explore first. Chances are he's not in a western mood after the tremendous failure of his latest film, The Lone Ranger, earlier this year. Either way, Rango left such a lasting impression that if he were to revisit the material, fans would certainly be on board with the idea.