"Rio" is the sixth feature film from Blue Sky Studios, the production company which has previously brought us the sub-zero "Ice Age" franchise, the springy "Robots" and the Suess-tacular "Horton Hears a Who." Continuing the trend of animated flicks with non-human protagonists, "Rio" is about a nerdy bird who travels to the radiant titular city in a cage.
This bird is Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg of "The Social Network" fame), a blue Spix's Macaw who lives with his bookish owner Linda (Leslie Mann, "I Love You Phillip Morris") in Minnesota. He's been her loyal pet for 15 years now, and is ever so happy with the daily routines they share, as is she. The rules of filmdom say this must be interrupted somehow.
Cue Brazilian bird expert Túlio (Rodrigo Santoro, "Che"), who stumbles upon Blu and claims that the domesticated macaw is the last male of his very endangered species. Well, it's lucky he randomly spotted him, then. Túlio says that Blu must be taken to Rio de Janeiro so he can meet and mate with a female of his kind, namely the feisty Jewel (Anne Hathaway, "Love and Other Drugs"), who’s been causing the now-bruised scientists some physical trouble.
Blu flies over to Rio (in a plane, I might add -- Blu has never been able to fly) along with Linda and Túlio and is taken to a laboratory for some species-saving bird loving. However, things go awry, and the two macaws end up being kidnapped for the financial gain of nefarious smuggler Marcel (Carlos Ponce, "Couple's Retreat").
Chained together at the ankle, Blu and Jewel luckily manage to escape, let loose in the ginormous city with Marcel's evil cockatoo, Nigel (Jemaine Clement, "Flight of the Conchords"), hot on their feathered tails. Meanwhile, Blu tries to get back to Linda, who also searches desperately for her beloved pet bird.
"Rio" is a straight-forward, simple computer-animated tale that boasts spectacular colours and supplies a whole ton of kid-friendly fun. It's a typical fish-out-of-water (or bird-out-of-Minnesota) story, the kind that's all too common in this genre, but it manages to squeeze every possible ounce of joyfulness out of the concept.
The visuals are extravagant, rendered in such a way that they give an overwhelming sense of warmth -- I would expect nothing less given the scorching South American setting. Director Carlos Saldanha (who has gained much experience from all of Blue Sky's productions, sans "Horton") knows exactly how to handle all the boisterous shenanigans and childish slapstick, the film filled with visual pizzazz and lively energy, as well as a clear love of the beautiful city in which Saldanha himself was born.
As our two squawking heroes, Eisenberg and Hathaway's voices are appropriately charming. Eisenberg's bird is a geek of sorts, unable to fly and feeling hopelessly homesick, while Hathaway is the free bird, determined to never be stuck in a cage again, yearning to live unchained in the jungle. Their destinies are all too predictable, but there's a sweetness to their stranded characters that makes them a delight to watch.
The film is partly a musical as well as a comedy, showing off quite a few dance numbers throughout the runtime. It opens with a flamboyant musical number in the jungle, birds flapping their wings in perfect unison, singing of the glories of Rio. A definite musical highlight is the hilarious "Pretty Bird," sung by the vicious villainous cockatoo, the character's New Zealand-born voice actor being one half of the brilliant musical duo "Flight of the Conchords." It all aids in the dazzling spectacle that is this film.
Visually magnificent and effectively charming, "Rio" is a treat (or tweet) that should work for kids, teens and adults alike. The narrative is maybe all too familiar and it wouldn't take a professional psychic to work out the ending, but it's a joyful ride that's bright, colourful and wholly amusing. It's no "Rango," but "Rio" is certainly not bird-brained.
8/10
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