Rio – Review
I’ve never been a particular fan of the Dreamworks-born animated films. It’s not that they’re terrible film-making per se, but they often strike me as the type of productions meant more to pull audiences in with big name celebrity voices than to present a good story. Rio, the latest 3D CGI film starring Jessie Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway doesn’t have the most original story but offers up a few good laughs for kids and their parents.
Rio follows Blu, the last male Blue Macaw parrot on the planet, as he taken out of the only home he’s known in Minnesota to a tropical bird sanctuary in Rio De Janeiro to, hopefully, hit it off with the last female of his kind and save the species. Blu’s failure to learn how to fly, coupled with a trio of poachers who recognize the monetary value of the couple, take the unlikely pair on an adventure through the South American rain forest and through the streets of Rio during Carnivale. It’s your basic Fish-Out-Of-Water meets Destined-Love type story.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDsvbki-3IM&feature=relmfu
Fortunately, this is less about the story and more about the characters. A colorful cast of mostly birds and monkeys that keep a pace that is sure to keep the attention of most kids. Hip Hop star will.i.am and Academy Award Winner Jamie Foxx are the R2-D2 and C-3P0 for this story with the obvious difference being that they are party animals (sorry, cliche). They provide a few of the half dozen or so original songs with a Latin flavor that’ll have you tappin’ your toes or shakin’ your tail feathers (I know, I can’t help it) to the beat.
A few awkward moments aren’t too difficult to be found. The main antagonist, the poacher’s pet cockatoo, has a song all his own to explain why he’s evil, but it lacks anything resembling subtlety and actually raises more questions about the character’s motives than it does to answer them.
For lack of a better word, the movie is “cute”. It’s got a few memorable moments and a couple of songs that will stick with you after the credits have rolled, but it’s nothing spectacular. It’s one of those films where the trailer doesn’t quite do it justice, but doesn’t rise to the upper echelons either. Middle of the road, fun for the kids, Rio makes for a good Saturday matinee and a no-brainer DVD buy for the family.
