Rio (2011)

That in mind, there is more of 2011 I have yet to see, hence the so far bit, but I absolutely loved this movie after seeing it when it came out today. From the trailers and advertising it looked like a bright, breezy and entertaining animation, and in my mind it was much more than that. And I genuinely mean it when I say it is my favourite of the year so far, even surpassing the outstanding(if somewhat misunderstood) Rango.

What I loved most about Rio was its energy. Rio for me has more energy than any of the Ice Age(from the same team) movies, and its energy is truly infectious at that. Two reasons especially make it so. One is the writing, I wasn't expecting the writing to be this sharp, funny and witty, looking at some of the previous work the writer has penned, while the jokes are plentiful and come by thick and fast. The other is the soundtrack. It has a huge amount of authentic Brazilian flavour and just ripples with zest. I loved the samba and bossa nova rhythms that pulsate throughout, and further fun is to be had in the Busby Berkeley-style beginning and the truly spectacular Carnaeval finale.

The story isn't perhaps original, nor did it need to be, but it is fast-paced, with many entertaining scenes and is very rarely predictable. There is also the obligatory life lessons here which are seamlessly blended without feeling shoe-horned in or preachy. I loved the characters too. Blu is very endearing, and voiced brilliantly by The Social Network's Jesse Eisenberg. Jewel is a lovely love interest, and her chemistry with Blu is ceaselessly entertaining and cute. Anne Hathaway previously voiced Haru on the English dub of The Cat Returns. She did a fine job on that, but in Rio she is even better, more understated and less shrill. I equally loved the villainous cockatoo Nigel(who avoids being a caricature and the like and voiced phenomonally by Jermaine Clement) and the constantly drooling bull-dog.

Other than the above components, what also made Rio was its animation, which is simply stupendous. I haven't seen an animated movie in a long while(and I am a huge fan of animation) where the colours in particular are so rich and warm. The characters are also beautifully modelled especially the titular character Blu, and this includes the secondary characters as well, and the sceneries and backgrounds are breathtaking with such a refreshing richness and warmth. In conclusion, a wonderful animated film and my favourite of the year so far. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Fmovies: The main plot of "Rio", an endangered bird doesn't know how to fly. It sounds a bit predictable and this plot was already used by many movies. But the core of this film is showing the beautiful place of Rio De Janeiro. The filmmaking was great. Colorful visuals, often hilarious, and decent directing.

There is nothing wrong with the voice acting. The main cast, Jesse Eisenber and Anne Hathaway are like the bird versions of them. Jemaine Clement really made his character evil. The rest of the cast, Will.i.am, Jamie Foxx and George Lopez adds more fun to the movie. I just wish Tracy Morgan's character Luiz had more scenes.

The visuals are colorful and very spectacular. It really shows how beautiful Rio De Janeiro is. The flying sequence is indeed breathtaking even if it's in 2D. The problem of the movie is it's not so compelling. The ending seems rushed. We will all know what's gonna happened to this flightless bird. Although the movie has a big heart. The movie is often funny of course.

Overall it's a fun experience. "Rio" is not like Pixar but it's still enjoyable for the whole family. After watching all of those awful recent blockbusters, I think "Rio" is the best movie I've seen this year so far. It could be the studio's best movie yet.

We saw this in 2D, on a digital projection system. While the movie is an hour and 36 minutes, it felt longer to me. I guess it's because there was nothing new about this, it was all pretty predictable. I even dozed off for a few minutes part way through.

Now, on the positive side, the movie's colors are rich and vibrant. The animation quality is simply amazing; some of the wide scenic shots looked almost real. The music is a lot of fun and there are some good laughs, especially in the latter half of the film. My 10-year old son was glued to the screen; even asked us when it was over which was our favorite scene(s). Overall, it's a good film. I'd say take the kids and go have some fun.

Rio fmovies. It's story of how love compels to break comfort zone and discover our new self. Visually stunning Rio is brilliant stroke of writers to add magic to adventures and love tale of endangered bird "Blu". Story wouldn't have been same with Samba, carnival, beaches, mountain views, Tram buses if it was not Rio.

The whole story revolves around Tamed Blu and wild Jewel. Jesse Eisenber and Anne Hathaway did their best voice acting. Apart from Blu and Jewel there are plenty of characters which build story effectively and added plenty of rib tickling moments.

Even though story is simple and very much predictable with obvious ending, still story survives to tell a tale of love despite differences. Brilliant animation in 3d will take you on Journey of adventure and fun!

A must watch for its animation!

The Brazilian city Rio de Janeiro is serving as the setting for two films being released this April: one being a full on action film, Fast and Furious 5, the other being a family animated adventure. Rio is that film and shows that the Fox subsidiary Blue Sky Studios is growing from strength to strength.

Blu the Spix's Macaw's (Jesse Eisenberg) early life is tragic, having fledging from his nest too early and been kidnapped by poachers. Luckily he was adopted by a loving owner, Linda (Leslie Mann) as a little girl. 15 years later Linda owns a bookstore in the snowy landscape of Minnesota and Blu becoming a very nerdy bird. A Brazilian ornithologist, Túlio (Rodrigo Santoro) finds Linda and tells her that Blu is the last male of his species and takes them to Rio de Janeiro so the bird could breed. But Blu does not hit it off with Jewel (Anne Hathaway) and matters get worst when poachers take the birds and chain them together. When their escape Blu and Jewel they try and reunite with Linda whilst avoiding being captured by the poachers and their insane cockatoo Nigel (Jemaine Clement).

Rio is a pure formula picture and there are many elements have been in other films, such as Blu being taken from the wild as a chick, the animosity between Blu and Jewel and we all know where it is going to lead, the story of Nigel having a tragic past and being rejected, etc, etc…. But formula does not have to be bad and when done right it can easily lead to an enjoyable film for all the family. Director Carlos Saldanda certainly made a fast paced adventure with a great amount of velvet colour. There is a more old-fashion feel to it, like Disney films and its copycats in the 90s. Pop-culture references are toned down and there are a few musical numbers which is rare in CGI animated features. The animation itself has a similar look to Pixar's particular the human characters, though Túlio looks very similar to the main character in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. The animation of the parrots climbing is particularly well done and true to live to anyone who has ever own one.

Much of the humour of the film is kid friendly slapstick as is expected from this type of film and it is done very well. There is enough for parents and adults audiences to keep them entertaining. My personal favourites were the double act Kipo (Robin Thicke) and Marcel (Carlos Ponce) who were the dumb henchmen for the poacher and outsmarted by a cockatoo. They have some of the best lines in the film. But the two characters Pedro the Red-crested Cardinal (will.i.am) and Nico the yellow canary (Jamie Fox) were annoying and pretty stereotypical.

Eisenberg gives a typical nerdy performance as his character is book-smart, but not adventurous at all, preferring to be safe with his owner. Compared to Hathaway she is a feisty, strong female character who wants to explore and distrusts humans. Both learn from each other, for Blu that there is a wider world and for Jewel that not all humans are bad. Clement was funny as he parodies British actors playing psychopathic villains in action films. Though I do question why ornithologists did not question why they had an injured cockatoo considering the species is native to Australia and New Guinea (but this is a minor issue). As well as the bird love in the film there is also some nerd love.

A respectable 7.5/10.

The story starts as a number of birds is caught in the middle of the Brazilian rain forest. One of them is a blue parrot, and as it turns out, a very special one. Years later the wheels of fate have taken him into the loving hands of a woman that treats him very well, maybe a little too well. Fate is again turning on him and his presence is needed in Rio.

And that's where this very colourful animation film really starts rolling. He quickly meets a number of friends and a necessary number of enemies and the rest of the story unfolds at a pleasantly quick pace.

Animation wise this one is nice, but not more than nice. The colour scheme is just great, spot on for the type of film, but action wise it's too much of a kids film - there's too little fun stuff hidden under the surface to keep the adults happy.

Story wise it's a little too rich on clichés and the easy turns and tangles. It's not bad but it's not great. All in all, it works great on the children, and works OK on their parents/guardians.

7 out of 10 feathers in a ruffle