Voices of Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, will.i.am, and Jamie Foxx
Directed by Carlos Saldanha
Music and Lyrics by various
Blue Sky Studios began in 1987 as a firm that created special effects for commercials and films. They broke into feature-length animation in 2002 with the original Ice Age and continued until Disney shut them down in 2021. Though they had many musicals in the pipeline over the decade of their existence, this and its sequel are the only ones that made it into theaters. It was a hit back in 2011, but how does the story of two Spix's Macaws fleeing poachers during Carnival in Rio De Janeiro look now? Let's begin in the jungles of Brazil with birds singing about how they're "Real In Rio" and find out...
The Story: Blu (Eisenberg) was captured as a baby and taken to Minnesota, where bookshop owner Linda Gunderson (Leslie Mann) found him and took him home. She raised him as her own beloved pet, but he's so used to his cage and her shop that he can't fly. One day, bird scientist Tulio Monteiro (Rodrigo Santoro) comes to her shop and insists on her bringing Blu to Brazil to mate with Jewel (Hathaway), the last-known female of his species. Jewel (Hathaway) has no desire to mate with anyone and wants to return to the jungle. Blu, for his part, just wants to go back to Minnesota and his quiet life with Linda.
This becomes a lot harder when they're stolen by orphan Fernando (Jake T. Austin) and sulphur-crested cockatoo Nigel (Jermaine Clement), who work for bird smugglers. Nigel is deeply resentful of any bird prettier than him after he was replaced by a parakeet on a hit TV show. Jewel and Blu get help on their way through Rio from toucan Rafael (George Lopez), his drooling bulldog buddy Luiz (Tracy Morgan), and goofy bird buddy pair Pedro (will.i.am) and Nico (Foxx). As Linda and Tulio follow their blue friends through Rio, both pairs learn lessons about love, loyalty, trust, and letting your instinct guide you.
The Animation: Colorful and gorgeous, appropriate for the Rio De Janeiro setting. Carnival in particular is rendered beautifully, with its amazingly detailed costumes and floats. The animals look so good, you can see individual feathers on the Macaws. The opening "Real In Rio" number is especially amazing, with its birds blending for Busby Berkeley effects.
The Song and Dance: This is so cute, I really wish Blue Sky had gotten some of those other musicals they had planned off the ground. Though Eisenberg and Hathaway do well enough as the domesticated and wild birds with different trust issues, it's the supporting cast where this one really shines. Lopez is wise and hilarious as Rafael, who keeps trying to push Blu at Jewel, and Foxx and will.i.am play beautifully off each other as the funniest avian duo in Brazil. Jermaine Clement is a nice bitter villain bird, too. Some of the songs aren't bad, either, especially that kaleidoscopic opening number. We also get a lot of real-life Brazilian culture, thanks to Saldanha being an actual Rio native.
Favorite Number: We open with the entire cast singing "Real In Rio" as birds dance in spectacular formations, fly gracefully across ocean blue skies, and celebrate their native homeland. "Let Me Take You To Rio" covers Linda and Blu's arrival in Brazil and the colorful people they see there. We get a bit of "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie when Blu sees Jewel for the first time.
"Sapo Cal" and "Copacabana Dreams" can be heard during their escape into Rio. Nigel rants about how a "Pretty Bird" took away his dreams of stardom and why he now wants revenge. Lopez and Bebel Gilberto as his mate get a bit of "The Girl from Ipanema." The marmosets naturally get "Funky Monkey." "Telling the World" is performed by its author Taio Cruz, while will.i.am leads the samba in Rio with "Hot Wings (I Wanna Party)."
Trivia: "Real In Rio" was nominated for an Academy Award.
What I Don't Like: All of the fancy trappings and Carnivals in South America can't disguise the cliches here. This is a very familiar young love story with a happy ending that has been seen before and will likely be seen again. As good as the songs are, I wish Saldanha would actually let one finish. Most of them are cut off before we hear the whole thing. The action sequences come off as frantic and even a little silly, with people running around in skimpy bird costumes and chasing birds around.
The Big Finale: If you have kids who love animal stories, birds, or are interested in learning about different cultures, try this one on them.
Home Media: Easily found in all formats. Rio isn't currently on Disney Plus (though its sequel is), but it's currently streaming just about everywhere else.
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