Review - Rio

A Colorful Explosion On Film

Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) is a domesticated Blue Macaw living a simple live in Moose Lake, Minnesota. Little did he know that his owner Linda (Leslie Mann) will soon be offered the chance of a life time; the chance to save the blue macaw from extinction. The fact is, there is only one other Blue Macaw in existence and that Macaw is in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

But Linda has been overprotective of Blu his entire life. In this case, however, she realizes the greater good and decides to head to South America with her bird in tow to do their part to save the species.

Arriving in South America, Blu meets the angel of his dreams. The majestic Jewel (Anne Hathaway) immediately catches Blu's eye and the race is on to save the species. Only someone forgot to tell Jewel they were supposed to be together. Two more different birds could not exist. Blu from the domesticated life where everything is done for him, and he doesn't even have to fly. Jewel from the jungles where she must fly for survival and relate to many of the animals that surround her in the perches high about the forest floor.

While the mating struggles to grab hold, a different challenge is ready to face our two Macaws. Someone has other plans as they are birdnapped and ready to be sold to the highest bidder. Somehow, Jewel and Blu must break free with some help from their South American friends and find their way to freedom. Can they get free, and save the species?

Rio features a color explosion onscreen. The magnificent birds of South America are worth the price of admission. It has a toe-tapping soundtrack that will have your kids singing along in the theater. And a storyline that is easy enough to follow alongside a G rating. It's a solid film for the young kids and mom and dad will be fine with it as well.

Where Rio is different than many animated films today, is that it doesn't try to have a number of jokes that go over the heads of the youngest kids. It may be a bit flat for parents to sit through compared to other films of its type.

Rio is a colorful, fun and cute look at the brilliance of the area. It's a journey that is worth taking to leave wherever you are for 96 minutes and head to Rio.

B

Rio

Universal Pictures

Director: Carlos Saldanha

Voice Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez, Jamie Foxx, will.i.am

Rating: G

Runtime: 96 minutes.