Rio (2011)

When Blu, a domesticated macaw from small-town Minnesota, meets the fiercely independent Jewel, he takes off on an adventure to Rio de Janeiro with this bird of his dreams.

Director:

Carlos Saldanha

Writers:

Carlos Saldanha (story), Earl Richey Jones (story),

Stars:

Karen Disher, Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Karen Disher	...	Mother Bird (voice)
Jason Fricchione	...	Truck Driver (voice)
Sofia Scarpa Saldanha	...	Young Linda (voice)
Leslie Mann	...	Linda (voice)
Kelly Keaton	...	Bookstore Customer / Lady Tourist (voice)
Jesse Eisenberg	...	Blu (voice)
Wanda Sykes	...	Chloe (The Goose) (voice)
Jane Lynch	...	Alice (The Other Goose) (voice)
Rodrigo Santoro	...	Tulio / Soccer Announcer (voice)
Gracinha Leporace	...	Dr. Barbosa (voice)
Jamie Foxx	...	Nico (voice)
Will i Am	...	Pedro (voice) (as will.i.am)
Phil Miler	...	Aviary Intern / Waiter (voice)
Anne Hathaway	...	Jewel (voice)
Bernardo de Paula	...	Sylvio / Kipo (voice)

Storyline

In Rio de Janeiro, baby macaw, Blu, is captured by dealers and smuggled to the USA. While driving through Moose Lake, Minnesota, the truck that is transporting Blu accidentally drops Blu's box on the road. A girl, Linda, finds the bird and raises him with love. Fifteen years later, Blu is a domesticated and intelligent bird that does not fly and lives a comfortable life with bookshop owner Linda. Out of the blue, clumsy Brazilian ornithologist, Tulio, visits Linda and explains that Blu is the last male of his species, and he has a female called Jewel in Rio de Janeiro. He invites Linda to bring Blu to Rio so that he and Jewel can save their species. Linda travels with Blu and Tulio to Rio de Janeiro and they leave Blu and Jewel in a large cage in the institute where Tulio works. While they are having dinner, smugglers break into the institute and steal Blu and Jewel to sell them. Linda and Tulio look everywhere for Blu, who is chained to Jewel and hidden in a slum. Meanwhile, Jewel ...

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Plot Keywords:

bird | macaw | minnesota | ornithologist | chained | 

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Taglines:

Love at first fight (character poster)

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Musical

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild off color humor

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese

Release Date:

8 April 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Рио

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$39,225,962 (USA) (15 April 2011)

Gross:

$143,618,384 (USA) (2 September 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Animation, Blue Sky Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film lost out at the Academy Awards for Best Original Song to The Muppets. This was the first time only 2 songs were nominated in the category instead of the usual 3 or 5. This lack of nominees in this particular category attracted widespread criticism and led to a full slate of 5 nominees the following year.

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Goofs

When Tulio visits Linda in Minnesota, there are two blue pens or pencils on the table. When Tulio throws Blu, the two pens or pencils have disappeared.

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Quotes

Linda: [last lines; Linda watches as Blu flies away behind Jewel towards the jungle] That's my big brave boy.

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Crazy Credits

The initial set of credits is accompanied by a reprise of "Real in Rio" from the main cast. It is then followed by a scene of a featherless Nigel being photographed by Mauro.

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Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.12 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"The Chicken Dance"
Written by Werner Thomas and Terry Rendall

User Reviews

My favourite movie of the year so far

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