Rio (2011)

Blu Sky studios have given us the Ice Age trilogy, "Robots" (2005) and "Horton Hears a Who" (2008), all of which, except this last one, had the handling of brazilian born Carlos Saldanha, who this time around chose his own home town for the setting of an animation picture. Yet "Rio" gives nothing new entertainment-wise, and it's own vision of Rio de Janeiro seems a soap opera one, or one that is given by a rich-born person. Curiously, it was last week that I saw "Tropa de Elite 2" and the two films seem set in two different town entirely. Of course that I know that this is an animation feel good movie, yet there are some liberties you can't take. You can't have the main (human) characters going up and down the "favela" all the time! Anyway, "Rio" presents a story of the Bird Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg), who at a very young age was captured and sold. He found a home in Minessota, as a pet to a young and delicate young girl named Linda, who becomes a delicate and shy book store owner (voiced by Leslie Mann), whose best friend is this house broken bird. Therefore, Blu never learned how to fly and is perfectly happy with all house hold comforts. But one day a Brazilian scientist, Tulio, comes and says that he is the last male of it's kind, and is needed back in Brasil to mate with the last female, Jewel, (voiced by Anne Hathaway). So of goes bird and owner to Brazil, where the real adventure begins. Basically, Blu and Jewel are stolen, the bad guys try to sell them, Linda and Tulio try to find them, as all the while the birds try to escape. Blu learns to love the outdoors, and will eventually learn how to fly when it's really needed, and both couples (the birds and the humans), will gradually fall in love. The humor is worn out material: chases, falling, funny talking characters, making the animals do human things such as dancing to rap or Lionel Ritchie (actually that scene is pretty funny), and the constant ramblings of Blu (Eisenberg almost repeating his facebook experience). The rest is pretty much standard and the plot moves where it should. Yet there are inexplainable things, such as why are all brazilian birds voiced by african-americans (such as Jammie Foxx and Will.i.am), with cliche african-american expression such as "y'all" or "bro", how can the characters walk around Rio's favela at ease, and why, yet again, the evil bird (working for those who steal the birds), speaks with an english stage accent? A lot of cliches, little jokes (I don't find it funny a will.i.am bird rapping), and nothing new on the plot. Enough to entertain? Sure, go and see and have a nice time. A milestone in animation? Certainly not. Animals again following the same formulas of hate turn to love, dilemmas and stubbornness that melt into conquering fears at the end, a strong headed female character that also fall in love, and side characters that exist to be voiced by famous people and not the other way around. Nevertheless there are great scenes, as the climax at the Sambodromo, in Rio's Carnaval, or the opening (the only scene worthy of the 3D). Much talked about, you may say it's a disappointment, because it's just another animation movie with animals, of no special value than its superficial entertainment. And Saldanha gives the postcard view of Rio, which is true for Copacabana, and not for the rest of the city...And by the way, not even the "bird near extinction" message is given any thought, which just helps to enhance the feeling I had through all the movie: the elements were there, the plot was just not explored.