Genre: Animated
Director: Carlos Saldanha
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez
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Rio is like a samba act you wouldn’t be caught dead listening to at home, but quite enjoy on vacation, especially with a tropical drink in hand.
This bird-brained tale is dim of plot but bright of illumination and animation, a rare example where 3D actually enhances the experience — although it will play just as well on the 2D screens in most homes.
The voicing isn’t as colourful, at least for the main avian characters Blu and Jewel, played by Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway. But there’s no reason to squawk too loudly about the film, which is made by the same people behind the profitable Ice Age franchise.
Blu is a rare Brazilian macaw living in snowy Minnesota with his bookish owner Linda (Leslie Mann). He’s so tame (read: American) that he’s never learned to fly.
His female counterpart Jewel still resides in her native Brazil — Rio de Janeiro to be exact. She lives with ornithologist Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro), who has come to an important realization: these birds must mate or their breed will die.
Blu is zipped down to Rio, but his lack of both air and street smarts, as well as the threat of avian poachers looking for payback and a fast pay day, make this more than just an amorous adventure.
A menagerie of comic voices keep feathers happily flapping. Extras include a deleted scene as well as making-of featurettes.
