Review of Rio (2011) by Dawn B — 13 Jul 2013

Rio, an animated film created by Blue Sky Studios, the company behind the Ice Age films and Horton Hears a Who, tells the story of Blu (Jesse Eisenburg), a macaw living in Minnesota who never learned how to fly. When it's discovered that Blu's the last male of his kind, Blu and owner Linda (Leslie Mann) travel to Rio de Janeiro for Blu to meet with the last female macaw, Jewel (Anne Hathaway). When the two birds are chained and kidnapped by smugglers, but soon escape, still chained to one another. Teaming up with friends along the way, such as Pedro (william), Nico (Jamie Foxx), Raphael the toucan (George Lopez), and Luiz the bulldog (Tracy Morgan), Blu and Jewel have to escape from the smugglers, Blu needs to overcome his fear of flying, and the two have to return to Leslie and the doctor before it's too late.

Blue Sky hasn't really been one of my favorite studios when it comes to animation. The only film that I was a huge fan of would be the first Ice Age. When it comes to Rio, however, is a surprisingly enjoyable picture.

The voice cast in Rio is pure entertainment. Jesse Eisenburg is funny and memorable as Blu, while Ann Hathaway delights as Jewel. While not a big fan of either william or Jamie Foxx, I was surprised that both artists were both entertaiing in their roles, and throughout the film, very funny. George Lopez is also a delight as the toucan and Tracy Morgan has some fun scenes as the bulldog with a bad case of drooling. There's also Nigel, voiced by Jermaine Clement. an ugly, evil bid who works for the bird smugglers. Not only is he sinister, but also has some humor in him.

Another fun thing about Rio is the music. The songs in Rio are fun, memorable, and makes Rio a worthy standout. There's the Oscar-nominated "Real in Rio", a villain rap song that I surprisingly enjoyed (it's about Nigel, by the way), and a Jamie Foxx/wiliam collaboration called "I Wanna Party" that was also a fun little tune (which surprised me as well, cause I usually don't enjoy either artist).

The animation really makes Rio a good viewing experience. For a CG film, the looks and colors are simply beautiful and looks like a painting. The animators really delivered here, making Rio one of the best-looking CG films ever, right up there with Pixar's.

But Rio is not a perfect film, however. Some portions of the film felt like a story like this had been done before. One portion where the couple has to figure everything out while chained together is reminiscent of the Hitchcock classic The 39 Steps, but that film deals with a man framed for murder, while the couple here is just escaping from smugglers. I couldn't help but notice the similarities. It doesn't hurt the film, but feels familiar, in a way.

While some portions of the film feel like it's been done before, Rio is a CG wonder, with beautiful animation, a wonderful voice cast, and some fun, fun, fun music.