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Rio Movie Review

Rio is a 2011 animated family musical adventure film directed by Carlos Saldanha and starring Jesse Eisenberg. It is one of Blue Sky Studio’s better flicks.

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“I don’t know how I got up here,

but I ain’t never coming down!“

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A bookshop owner, Linda, nurtures Blu, a macaw, after smugglers lose him in Minnesota. When she takes him to Rio, to help review his dying species, Blu is again abducted by a few smugglers. For a movie about a whole species going extinct in the wild (and that really happened tragically for this particular parrot species that can now only be found indoors), it is surprisingly slight thematically speaking. That was wholly disappointing to me as a big proponent of teaching kids about ecology and endangered animals, but that was all pushed to the side here, which made the flick utterly thin.

With that being said, the movie is still adventurous and fun enough that it really worked for the most part. The energy to its musical numbers and some action scenes is undeniable, and the whole flick goes by as this breezy entertainment perfect for a summer night. The humor is also solid, though rarely truly funny, but it has its moments.

This is one of those contemporary American animated films where they threw this gigantic cast of famous actors and actresses, and I’ve continued to ask myself – what is the point in that? Children would not appreciate it and I would say that adults won’t care either. I certainly didn’t. In fact, I found Jesse Eisenberg’s turn here unfortunate as he has one of those instantly recognizable voices that proved to be distracting from the character that he was playing.

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Although the voices weren’t the best and they really should have employed professional voice actors, the characters are still for the most part quite solid in development and appeal as well. Blu is quite likable and fun. His fear of flying is the best repeated gag in the movie and it was very engaging following his transition from a coward to a wild, capable bird. Jewel is a fine love interest, but their romance needed more work. The human characters are passable, but the sidekicks are simply forgettable. But Jemaine Clement as Nigel was simply fantastic. This is one villain that really worked as he was genuinely memorable and menacing.

Rio is actually a musical, and the decision to focus on Latin-sounding songs paid off as it fitted the Brazilian setting like a glove. The samba feel to this movie is infectious and so much fun while the colorful aesthetic accompanied the numbers beautifully. Pretty Bird by Jemaine Clement is a very interesting, fun villain song. Telling the World is also pretty good. But it is Real in Rio that was the true highlight as it’s the catchy ending and opening for the movie that is so much fun to listen to and oh so Brazilian. It was rightfully nominated for an Oscar.

Rio also has excellent animation with terrific character design, strong background work and again a pleasingly colorful palette. The action and humor are solid, but the dialogue and the overall plot needed to have been better. Still, it is one of this studio’s better crafted movies that felt reminiscent of the best ‘Ice Age’ movies.

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