"The Lone Ranger," and Tonto, ride again!

(CBS News) "Who was that masked man?" The Lone Ranger, of course, played on TV for many years by the late Clayton Moore. This week, there's a new Lone Ranger in town -- and a new Tonto, too, played by Johnny Depp. Our Lee Cowan has tracked him down:

Johnny Depp seems to live in the characters our childhood memories are made of. He not only brought a Disney theme ride to life (as Captain Jack Sparrow, in "Pirates of the Caribbean"); he also embodied the Mad Hatter of "Alice in Wonderland," and Willie Wonka.

But his latest role may be the most familiar character he's ever taken on. He plays Tonto in Disney's "The Lone Ranger," out this week.

"How tough a role was it to play compared to everything else you've done?" Cowan asked.

"Hopefully, whatever you're approaching has some kind of, you know, tightrope element, you know?" Depp replied.

"You like it when it's a bit dangerous?"

"I think if you don't feel that, if you don't feel some kind of -- not fear necessarily, but, you know, the possibility of just falling flat on your face, I think you must challenge that," Depp said.

And challenge he did. Tonto's curious, bird-on-the-head look was all Depp's creation. He was inspired by an painting by American artist Kirby Sattler, called "I Am Crow."

Director Gore Verbinski loved the look, bird and all.

But getting the Lone Ranger to ride again would prove to be no easy task.

"Well! I think it was shot in the head four times and dead a few times," Verbinski told Cowan.

He credited producer Jerry Bruckheimer -- a lifelong fan of Westerns - with rescuing the project. "I mean, Jerry was unbelievable," he said. "Jerry got down on his hands and knees and resuscitated this beast."

Bruckheimer told Cowan he was into "the whole cowboy thing" as a kid. "I got pictures of me with a cowboy hat on and six guns and britches and a vest," he said.

He was sold on "The Lone Ranger" -- and Disney was, too. But this Lone Ranger tale is told from Tonto's perspective.

"We've created a much different character than you saw initially," Bruckheimer said.

Was that a conscious choice? "Absolutely," said the producer. "Tonto was the servant of the Lone Ranger -- 'Yes, sir!' It's NOT that now. I mean, Tonto has his own demons and his own story to tell in this."

WEB EXTRA VIDEO: Johnny Depp and "Lone Ranger" director Gore Verbinski on how the actor came up with the look and attitude of Tonto.

It's been 80 years since Tonto and the Lone Ranger first galloped onto the airwaves to the William Tell Overture. It first aired on Detroit radio station WXYZ, with Brace Beemer as the masked man's voice through most of the show's run, which lasted nearly 3,000 episodes in all.

But then came TV.

Actor Clayton Moore became synonymous with the Lone Ranger, saddling up next to Jay Silverheels as Tonto. Together, from 1949 until 1957 they brought truth and justice to the Old West.

But they also raised a few eyebrows from generations of Native Americans.

Although Tonto's character wasn't as racially insensitive as some other characters at the time, Paley Center historian David Bushman says Tonto was hardly his own man.

"Clearly, Tonto is a character who was subservient to the Lone Ranger," said Bushman. "There's no question about who's in charge."

That, combined with Tonto's broken English, did much to create the negative stereotype of Native Americans in Hollywood.

"Bill Cosby had a great routine that he does where he makes this big joke about how the Lone Ranger was always sending Tonto into town to go get supplies or go get information, and every time Tonto would go in there, he would get beat up," said Bushman:

Cosby: "I'd always holler on the radio, Tonto, don't go to town! They're going to beat you up again, man! Just one time:
Tonto?
Yes, Kemo Sabe?
You go to town.
You go to Hell, Kemo Sabe!"

Depp admits his portrayal isn't absent all the stereotypes, but he's tried to change the tone.

"I was always very uncomfortable with the idea that Tonto was given sort of instructions and sent off," Depp said. "I mean, the Lone Ranger's a nice guy, but how come he's treating the other guy, like, lesser?"

The Lone Ranger is played by Armie Hammer ("The Social Network") -- a little less bossy, and just as squeaky-clean.

Hammer is too young to remember the original "Lone Ranger" series, but his dad made sure he watched it in reruns.

"When it would be on television when I was a kid, he'd say, 'Armie, get in here! Watch this! Okay. Now that's Butch Cavendish, and that's the Lone Ranger, that's Tonto, that his horse, Silver . . . ' you know? The whole thing," Hammer recalled.

"So what did your dad think when you got this part?" Cowan asked.

"He was thrilled. I mean, obviously, just thrilled," Hammer said.

Even Silver, the Lone Ranger's famous white steed, has found an updated voice -- speaking volumes with just a glance.

He's as smart a horse as he is white, says his trainer, Bobby Lovgren.

"Do you have to say 'Hi-Yo Silver' to get him to do anything?" Cowan asked.

"Ah, no! No!" laughed Lovgren.

In the end, the new "Lone Ranger" is as much about the sidekick as it is the hero.

But Johnny Depp knows his portrayal is still likely to draw criticism -- that's despite his recent revelation that he may be part Indian himself.

"Apparently there's either Cherokee or Chickasaw, or Creek, or something," Depp told Cowan.

Did that inform the way he played the character at all? "Of course," he replied. "But not like, for me thinking as you know, a Native American necessarily, but just approaching it with my respect, and my want and hope to present them in a light that maybe hasn't been presented before, you know?"

As his character Tonto says, "Justice is what I seek, Kemo Sabe."

Justice -- Hollywood style.

For more info:

• "The Lone Ranger" (Disney)
• The Lone Ranger Fan Club
• The Lone Ranger Wiki
• sattlerartprint.com (Kirby Sattler)