Underrated, But Blue Sky Delivers and Soars Into New Territory!

Rating: 10/10 (14 August 2011)

I have many things to talk about regarding "Rio," and I think I know what's best to say in two words: Brilliant execution.
Now for the movie itself, the plot of bringing a domesticated bird from America back to his native hometown in Brazil to preserve its species was not what I expected at first, but now I'm completely mesmerized by how we got to know the interesting human and animal characters, the amazing Brazilian setting, and a couple music numbers with South American samba flair.
The voice actors were chosen well, Oscar nominees Jesse Eisenberg (voicing male Macaw Blu) and especially Anne Hathaway (voicing female Macaw Jewel) brilliantly proving that she has the vocals to pull off a stunning music performance. Most might have heard her demonstrate her singing talent at the Academy Awards, but this movie is living proof that acting is not the only thing she's good at anymore.
After watching this movie for the first time in theaters and then seeing it again on its DVD release, Blue Sky has demonstrated that they can divert themselves away from their "Ice Age" franchise from time to time and deliver a marvelous new story filled with joy, sympathy, and quirks you can't help but follow along. Director Carlos Saldanha has given us a dose of what his hometown in Brazil is like and its tranquility (via CGI) is very engaging. Their research was done really well and hoping to see more of this again and again. For a non-Disney film, I'm giving Blue Sky a chance and saying that their team has pulled off - which perhaps looks like - THE BIRTH OF A NEW FRANCHISE!