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 3 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:

Party fowl (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

Nico's type of bird is a canary

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Goofs

When Blu is standing on the makeshift light runway preparing an attempt to fly, the section of wire at the end of the runway is shown draped and absent of lights, but as he runs the wire changes, it is no longer draped and has no gap in the lights.

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Quotes

Luiz: This is the spit!

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the credits, two blue feathers are formed by the abstract shapes.

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Connections

References American Idol (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Say You, Say Me"
Written, Performed, and Courtesy of Lionel Richie

User Reviews

Location, location, location. It's Rio!

"Oh, how wish I was back in my cage, with my mirror, and my little bell"

Jesse Eisenberg should be forever grateful that the Oscar-nominated "The Social Network" was released before Rio. That's because his voice as Blu, the macaw, is so distinctive and perfect, that in my mind he will always be Blu. And if Rio had been released months ago, audiences worldwide would think that Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder, missed his cage, mirror and little bell.

Now, for the movie itself…

Location, location, location. Because what's Rio, the movie, without (pulsating, colorful, exuberant, romantic) Rio, the city? The story is delightful, though predictable. The characters are cardboard, even if 3D and feathery. But "predictable" and "cardboard" are the worst adjectives I could possibly link to Rio. The Rio deal, is that I laughed all the way through it, like everybody else in the theater.

Blu, the last male of his kind, is the happiest macaw, out there in a snowy town with Linda, his nerdy owner. Jewel, the last female of her kind, lives in Brazil, and is the saddest macaw, imprisoned in a cage and fighting for her freedom. She's a free-spirited soul, with the world at her feet. Blu has lived a sheltered life, can't fly, and loves every minute of it. What happens when they meet? Anyone above the age of 7 can guess how it ends (age 5 if he's seen the trailer). But there's so much delight from the first minute to the last, that you don't want it to end.

I was one of the lucky few to watch the premiere of Rio in Rio, and at this point I can hardly wait to see it again. A Brazilian, Carlos Saldanha, directed the movie, and it shows. The details of the city are all there, but so is the big picture (you know, everything that really matters, along with wide panoramas of Rio by night, of a crowded beach, of a sunset in the cable cars of Santa Teresa).

Lots of AMAZING aerial views in the action scenes. The main characters are birds, thus flying should be expected. Many of those places showed in the movie can be visited by tourists.

Rio doesn't have the depth of stories such as Toy Story or Up. It is a simpler plot. It is, however, pure fun from start to finish, and visually stunning. Location, location, location. As a native of Rio, I could recognize most places, and was stunned with how realistic were the slums, and how the geography of the city, especially the mountains, could be so painstakingly reproduced.

The movie is not a musical, but it comes close to it. There's funk, bossa nova, a few clichés of Brazilian music and even samba sang in English (still conflicted about it!).

There is also the portrayal of animal trafficking, a centuries-old problem in Brazil, and the subplot of a boy who lives on the streets and must resort to petty crime, which adds up to a much-needed social commentary.

By all means, don't miss this movie!