Rio de Janeiro — is a tropical land filled with colorful species of birds, warm sandy beaches, Carnival street parties and ... exotic bird smugglers. American animated films don’t usually send audiences to beautiful exotic lands (with the exception of Pixar’s “Up” (2009)). It’s a wonder nobody has ever done an animated film about Rio until now.
From the same company responsible for the slate-gray “Ice Age” series, “Rio” delights with marvelously cast vocal performances, as well as multicolored animation with well-complemented use of 3-D. What Brazilian-born director Carlos Saldanha (“Ice Age” (2002)) describes as his “dream project” captures the surreal aspect of the country.
After being taken from a jungle near Rio by smugglers, a baby macaw who never learned to fly ends up in Minnesota. The bird is found by a girl named Linda (Leslie Mann), who names him Blu (Jesse Eisenberg). Fifteen years later, Brazilian scientist Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro) visits Linda and Blu at a second-rate bookstore and tells them that Blu is the last male of his species. He convinces them to travel to Rio to mate Blu with the aviary-housed Jewel (Anne Hathaway), who has no desire to mate and longs to be free.
Shortly after meeting, Blu and Jewel end up chained to each other and taken by smugglers. They manage to escape into the jungle while being hunted by the smugglers’ wicked cockatoo companion Nigel (Jermaine Clement, “The Flight of the Conchords”). With the assistance of his new bird companions, Blu attempts to overcome his inability to fly, gain Jewel’s affection and find his way back to Linda.
The voice casting serves the movie well, with Eisenberg’s nerdy voice tone perfect for the character of Blu,and Hathaway’s lovable feistiness complementing Jewel’s character. The vivid supporting characters, who mostly serve for comedic purposes, include a henpecked toucan (George Lopez), a street-smart, rapping cardinal (will.i.am), a crooning canary (Jamie Foxx) and a slobbering bulldog (Tracy Morgan).
The breathtaking animation is the strongest point of the movie. Saldanha successfully crafts visually stunning animation, with superb use of 3-D that practically takes audiences on a visual tour of Rio de Janeiro. The animation provides excellent surreal plumage to the film’s exotic birds and captures the splendor of Rio and its most glorified festival, Carnival. The most exhilarating scene shows Blu and Jewel riding on a hang glider that flies in front of the statue of “Christ the Redeemer.”
Sergio Mendes supervises the soundtrack for “Rio,” which is filled entirely with spirited, though forgettable, samba songs and bossa-nova beats that are mostly dependant on the vocal talents of Anne Hathaway, will.i.am and Jamie Fox. There’s even a nice little number from Clement that describes how the villainous cockatoo became a companion for smugglers.
The first 30 minutes of “Rio” doesn’t show much promise in terms of humor. However, once all of the supporting characters have been fully introduced, the comedy begins to build up and mostly relies on innovative humor. Also, in some respects, the plot somewhat borrows from DreamWorks’ “Madagascar” (2005), with Brazilian birds replacing African animals.
With its excellent vocal performance, samba rhythms and colorful animation, “Rio” is a triumphant start in animation for 2011 and the best family film thus far this year. It may not have the feathers to stand against a Pixar film, but “Rio” is still an on-screen tour of Rio worth taking.