Rio Review

Brazilian director Carlos Saldanha (the Ice Age trilogy, Robots) returns to his home turf in his latest animated offering, Rio. The 3D comedic toon follows Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg), a blue macaw poached from the jungles of Brazil as a chick and raised in domestic bliss in wintry Minnesota by his owner and best friend, bookstore owner Linda (voiced by Leslie Mann).

A domesticated bird, Blu's never learned to fly and is believed to be the last of his kind. That is until Linda is visited by Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro), an ornithologist from Rio who informs her that there's another macaw there, a female named Jewel (voiced by Anne Hathaway). He wants her to bring Blu there so that they can save the species. Blu embarks on the biggest adventure of his sheltered life when he arrives in Rio, a colorful and vibrant city where there is seemingly always music in the air (thanks to the film's executive music producer, Brazilian icon Sergio Mendes).

But Blu and Jewel are hardly love at first sight. He's a nebbish, while she's a free spirit who literally finds herself weighed down by her flightless, would-be mating partner. Soon, the two not-so-love birds find themselves on the run from exotic animal smugglers assisted by Nigel, an evil cockatoo (voiced by Jemaine Clement) who was once a star. Blu and Jewel get help from the gregarious toucan Rafael (George Lopez), inseparable bird buds Nico and Pedro (voiced by Jamie Foxx and Will.i.am, respectively), and Luiz the bulldog (Tracy Morgan). Blu will have to conquer his fears and learn how to fly if he's going to survive Rio.

A charming but not especially memorable kid flick, Rio distinguishes itself more as a gorgeous travelogue for Rio de Janiero than anything else. There's something rather generic about the narrative and overall finished product. More than a few toons have had the opposite attracts relationship between the meek hero and the feisty heroine, or the protagonist who needs to conquer his fears, so where Rio does excel is in its sights and sounds.

The lushness of its digitally animated recreation of Brazil is gorgeous to behold in 3D. There's a hang-gliding sequence where Blu and Jewel piggy-back on a glider as it soars past the Christ the Redeemer statue and over the city that makes you feel like you're really there. Much as Ratatouille did for Paris, Rio brings its titular city to animated life with great affection and visceral impact.

The experience is also enhanced by the ever-present buzz of music. The movie features one of the catchier soundtracks of the year, with the standouts being the songs performed by Foxx and Will.i.am and a bravura number by Clement as a villain who could stand up to any of the recent Disney animated baddies.

In a movie that's so much about Brazil, it's odd that there's only one name Brazilian actor (Santoro) in the cast. Why did Jewel, Nico and Pedro have to be voiced by such distinctively American-sounding actors? And why did the film ultimately even need Luiz the dog? Rio suffers from the same character overload that so many other animated movies do, with "funny" characters included apparently for no other reason than to plaster another name actor on the poster.

Rio certainly has its charms. It will entertain the kids and give their parents a wish fulfillment escape to a beautiful, foreign place, but just don't go into it expecting a Pixar-quality story to boot.