Skip to main content

Rio

Voices by: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Geroge Lopez, Leslie Mann, and Rodrigo Santoro
Directed by: Carlos Saldanha
Screenplay by: Carlos Saldanha and Don Rhymer
    
    Imagine being a domesticated parrot that is the last of its species and has to go to the wild for the continuity of the species.  If this happened, we would have "Rio" in real life.
    We first meet Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) as a domesticated blue macaw parrot (that doesn't know how to fly) in Minnesota.  He is best friends with his owner Linda (Leslie Mann) until one day, a Brazilian biologist, Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro), comes to her house and tells her that they need to go to Rio de Janeiro so Blu can mate with the last female of the blue macaw species (Blu is the last male), a bird named Jewel (Anne Hathaway).  Along the way, the pair of birds run into a few problems, like being chained together, being stolen, and getting separated from Linda and Tulio.  The bright side, the birds meet a few friends who help them become unchained, and help Blu learn to fly.
    "Rio" is a very colorful film, even though it is animation.  The birds are extremely colorful, and fun to watch.  In one scene, they are trying to get Blu to return to Linda, but they have to go through Carnival, the biggest party in the world south of New Orleans, first.  They are just part of the parade and fit in well with all the vibrant colors and sounds.
    My problem with the animation is that many of the peripheral characters look the same as one another.  Another problem is the 3D.  It seems pointless because there's nothing to feel part of except for one party scene and there's nothing that pops out at the audience.
    Overall, "Rio" is fun for the whole family.  I'm not usually one for family movies, but this one is very good.  It's a fun movie.  It's also a good story about a character who overcomes a major obstacle in their life.  For this, it has a good message, that we can overcome even huge obstacles (with the exception that people can't grow wings and fly).
I give "Rio" a B+.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Hunger Games

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth Directed by: Gary Ross Screenplay by: Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins      If reality television hasn't gone too far yet, then this show should definitely make it go too far.      In a futuristic nation called Panem, one boy and one girl are selected from each of the nation's twelve districts to represent them in an annual television event called the Hunger Games.  Of the 24 contestants, only one will survive in this televised fight to the death.      I like the concept of the story.  While this futuristic society seems somewhat simple, it does not seem all that well developed.  It is unknown how this society came into being, even though it is known how the Hunger Games began.      If this film were released last year, I would have hoped it would be nominated for best make-up.  Many of the characters ...

300: Rise of an Empire

Starring: Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Headey, and Rodrigo Santoro Directed by: Noam Murro Screenplay by: Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad      Ladies and gentlemen, Xerxes has returned!  An important note:  if you have not seen the first 300,  leave this page, watch the film, and then read my review for this film.      The Persians are attacking Greece.  Their army is so vast it seems almost infinite compared to the small Greek army.  On the Greek side, Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton), attempts to unite all of the city states of Greece to form a united army to defend their land against the Persian army, whose goal it is to conquer Greece for the god-king, Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro).  Xerxes's naval commander, Artemisia (Eva Green), leads the attack against Themistokles and his army.  Artemisia is a Greek expat who seeks vengeance for the death of her family.  Will Themistokles be able to unite Greece and def...

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Starring: Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Cobie Smulders, and Robert Redford Directed by: Anthony and Joe Russo Screenplay by: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely      And here we have the newest installment of the Avengers series.  While I don't believe it is mandatory to watch The Avengers before watching this film, I strongly recommend it for some background information that you might not have otherwise.  Certainly watch the Captain America: The First Avenger before this film.      Let me begin by saying that Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) is a really awesome 95 year old.  He currently lives in Washington, D.C. working for SHIELD, whose headquarters, the Triskelion is just across the Potomac River from D.C.  He is called on a mission to rescue a SHIELD vessel in the Indian Ocean that's been taken over by Algerian pirates.  Onboard, he finds Natasha Romanoff, ...