Review of Rio 2 (2014) by Ceb1031 — 10 Jul 2017

For those not inclined to resist this over-insistent brand of educational entertainment, Fox’s latest collaboration with Blue Sky Studios should deliver still more of the winning formula that made the moderately charming “Rio” a surprise 2011 hit, grossing $486 million worldwide. Of that amount, about $341 million came from overseas, and “Rio 2” is already off to a similarly sunny start internationally, having grossed more than $10 million in a few territories (it opens March 27 in Brazil and April 11 Stateside). What may lend the film an extra commercial boost is an aggressively pre-marketed soundtrack that offers a vigorous fusion of hip-hop beats, samba riffs and Broadway-style showstoppers (once again overseen by composer John Powell, executive music producer Sergio Mendes and songwriter Carlinhos Brown).

As a result, “Rio 2” plays even more like a full-blown musical than its predecessor did, reflecting a general spirit of inflation that’s evident from the opening scenes: more jubilant revelry in the streets of Rio de Janeiro, more fireworks exploding over Christ the Redeemer, and more town-vs.-country lifestyle angst for Blu (again appealingly voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (the sweet-toned Anne Hathaway), the extremely rare blue macaws who were united at the end of the first film. Now they’ve got three cute, spirited chicks (Rachel Crow, Pierce Gagnon and Amandla Stenberg) and are living more or less happily ever after, although the Minnesota-raised Blu still exasperates the jungle-born Jewel with his reliance on man-made gadgets and amenities; instead of fetching fresh Brazil nuts for breakfast, the way she does, he’ll cook the kids pancakes instead.