Grade: B-
The Good: Colorful and lively, with some catchy musical numbers and a few honest chuckles. Shows some degree of social awareness amidst the candy coated fun.
The Bad: Not a particularly revelatory addition to the modern animated canon. Voice performances aren’t terrible, but lack an identity outside of the actors’ pre-established quirks.
It’s a given that studio films, especially animated features of the 3D variety, are generally unoriginal, yet I still find the concept of dueling movies—or at least the kind that have extremely similar elements—fascinating. Now, Fox and Blue Sky Studios Rio has very little in common with the upcoming fourth Fast and the Furious sequel, save for the setting of Rio de Janiero, Brazil. But, with these two movies being released mere weeks apart, it’s likely that most perceptive moviegoers will surmise that—hyperbolic and obvious as it may seem—Brazil is hot.
It’s too early to tell if Fast Five’s exotic setting is just a backdrop or a vital character in its own right, but Rio makes the home of Carnaval equally as important as any of its main characters with a colorful palette and a lively samba beat at the heart of a not-so original tale about learning to fly outside of one’s comfort zone.
Rio follows aptly named Blue Macaw Blu (Jesse Eisenberg), a rare avian species born in the rainforests of South America, as he and his lifelong, yet overprotective, human owner, Linda (Leslie Mann), venture to Rio at the behest of geeky ornithologist Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro). Tulio hopes Blu, the last male of his kind, will be able to mate with female Blue Macaw Jewel, the always-energetic Anne Hathaway, and repopulate the species. Unfortunately, Blu has spent his life in domesticity with Linda, and, unfortunately, doesn’t know the first thing about interacting with his own kind nor the defining quality of birds: flying. Once in Rio, Blu and Jewel are swiped by exotic pet smugglers after a botched escape attempt from Tulio’s sanctuary. As the two try to escape their captors and return to their respective homes, they learn about each other and the courage it’ll take to do the impossible.
The best word to describe Rio is colorful. From the stunning multicolor visuals to the wacky cast of characters to the lively Samba-tinged soundtrack, Rio is not lacking for liveliness. The artists at Blue Sky studio have composed a dynamic visual feat for its target audience to ogle while they bounce up and down in their seats. Rio’s crowded beaches, clamoring street life, dazzling Carnaval floats and performers, even the cluttered slums are rendered beautifully in some of the most vibrant CG animation this side of a Pixar project. Thankfully, the pricy 3D only enhances the experience so parents needn’t worry—too much—about dishing out the extra bucks for a muddy 3D conversion. While the kaleidoscopic animation might not track with most members of the audience, the movie’s main musical numbers are sure to catch their attention. Rio delivers at least three samba-infused pop performances that are sure to pull some butts—young and not-so-young alike—out of their seats. At least two of the numbers are clearly influenced by the Black Eyed Peas will.i.am, who contributes his voice to one of the film’s many feathered characters. Aside from the performances, there are a few chuckle-worthy scenes, particularly a mildly epic clash between bird and monkeys that evokes notions of the Pirates vs. Ninja meme, but nothing as riotous as last month’s Rango.
The all-star voice cast deliver performances that mimic their live-action performances so closely that it lead to one of the simplest games of ‘guess that voice’ I’ve ever played. Jesse Eisenberg voices Blu with that same amount of stammering braininess with a slight edge that makes him a much more digestible version of Michael Cera. Anne Hathaway delivers her own patented edgy, manic energy as Jewel, who could just as easily have been the pet of Hathaway’s character in Love and Other Drugs. A bit trickier to identify is Flight of the Conchords Jermaine Clement as the erudite and villainous Nigel. Clement hams it up, somehow managing to chew through animated scenery as a vain, yet past his prime, cockatoo who relentlessly pursues Blu and Jewel for the eeevil smugglers. George Lopez lends his voice to Rafael, a family man toucan playing a variation on the mystical minority guide, and Jamie Foxx and the aforementioned will.i.am play a musical Rosencrantz and Guildenstern who provide snarky and occasionally slapstick comic relief when they aren’t kicking off the musical numbers.
All in all, Rio isn’t terrible, and it’s not particularly revelatory. It’s middle of the road fun for families with a tepid lesson tacked on at the end. The humor is hardly the funniest, with mostly retreads of fish-out-of-water jokes that are stale by the second act. Commendably, Rio only slightly shies away from the realities of Rio beyond Carnaval with one human character, Fernando (Wizards of Waverly Place’s Jake T. Austin), representing orphaned, homeless Brazilian children who engage in a life of petty crime. Still, this awareness isn’t significant enough to elevate Rio into the ranks of recent animated gems like Up, Rango and How to Train Your Dragon. If you keep your expectations relatively low, you’ll enjoy yourself, even if you forget most of what happened once you drop your popcorn in overflowing trashcan. If set your expectations to high you’re cruising for disappointment. But, don’t worry parents, the kids will enjoy themselves either way.
