Rio

Voices of: Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, Leslie Mann, Wanda Sykes, Jane Lynch, Jamie Foxx, Will.i.am, George Lopez, Tracy Morgan
Directed by: Carlos Saldanha
Rating: G
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
2011

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A rare macaw (Jesse Eisenberg) travels to Brazil, where he meets the bird of his dreams (Anne Hathaway).

Review:

Tim: I thought Rio was a decent movie, but certainly nothing special. It's an all-too-predictable animated movie. I didn't dislike the movie, but I didn't necessarily have a great time, either. I struggle with films like this- it was decent, but ultimately unmemorable. I suppose there's a huge demand for animated films, but I just want them to be better than this. Twentieth Century Fox has made some good animated films, but have made some pretty bad ones as well. This isn't among their best.

I suppose the story is decent, although it's all a bit obvious. We have the last two blue macaws in the world, who have to escape from smugglers trying to sell them. They start off disliking each other, but through their trials and successes, eventually fall in love. There's a colorful collection of other birds and animals helping them along the way in their adventure. The story is fine, but it all felt a little too paint-by-the-numbers. There wasn't anything especially exciting or new about this movie. It's yet another anthropomorphized, talking animal movie. It's hard to get excited about it in any sense.

I suppose Jesse Eisenberg does good work as Blu. His voice is fairly recognizable, but it works as a nervous, sheltered bird. Anne Hathaway is pretty enjoyable as Jewel. I wouldn't say she was great, but I enjoyed her voice work. George Lopez did pretty good supporting work, and I liked his character. Tracy Morgan was pretty funny as a dog. I didn't recognize Jamie Foxx or Will.i.am, but I suppose they were decent.

I suppose there's a pretty good message at the heart of this story. It's a film about taking chances, believing in yourself, fighting against odds, and all of that. None of it is particularly interesting or powerful, however. I thought the characters were entertaining enough, but there wasn't anything that made me identify with or especially care about them. Animated movies need to make you care and connect emotionally to succeed. That's why I liked films like Wall-E and How to Train Your Dragon. That didn't happen with Rio, and so the movie felt too disposable to me.

I'm probably sounding overly harsh. The film didn't do anything egregiously wrong. It's a fine little story with a decent message for the kids. There's a few songs (none are great), a few humorous moments, and that's it. This is an average animated movie, of which we don't need a whole lot more. Fox needs to do a better job.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Ice Age, Horton Hears a Who!, Robots