The Vidiot Reviews...

Rating: Null/10 (4 August 2011)

Rio
When smuggling exotic birds into the country, before concealing them under your overcoat, it's important to first line yourself with old newspapers.
However, the feather filchers in this animated-adventure have opted out of adhering wild birds to their person.
Born in Brazil, but smuggled to Minnesota via the illegal exotic bird trade, Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) grows up never knowing how to fly.
His first experience, in fact, is on an airplane back to Rio, with his owner (Leslie Mann) and an ornithologist (Rodrigo Santoro), to repopulate his species.
Once there, he gets entangled with a freedom fixated macaw (Anne Hathaway), whose recklessness lands them in hot water with three local traffickers and their crazy Cockatoo (Jemaine Clement).
While Brazil's culture and colours are well represented in its renderings, Rio's story line and supporting-cast are nothing more than stock cartoon fare.
Besides, real Brazilians aren't interested in stealing birds...they're into kidnapping. (Yellow White)