Ordinary: The New Angry Bird

Rating: 6/10 (21 April 2011)

Director Carlos Saldanha has temporarily abandoned his "Ice Age" saga moving to the warm, beautiful jungle and city of Rio de Janeiro following colorful birds in the kid safe movie "Rio." While the G rating targets young children, adults may find some entertainment from the straightforward, colorful song and dance of Brazilian birds. The problem is "Rio" does not bring anything fresh to the animated escape genre. To begin, the film briefly takes place in Moose Lake, Minnesota after bird smugglers transfer a new catch from Rio to the U.S. Their goal is to sell them as pets, however, they accidentally leave a blue Macaw named Blu (Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network") on the side of the road. In Moose Lake Blu is domesticated throughout the years as he befriends a lady named Linda (Leslie Mann, "Funny People"). Life is perfect until Blu and Linda are informed by a scientist named Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro, "300") that Blu must go back to Rio in order to save his species from extinction. In Rio things start off rocky as he serenades his other half Jewel (Anne Hathaway, "Love and Other Drugs") and turn to the worse as the two are forced to escape the bonds of smugglers once again. They are aided on their journey by a seasoned entertainment cast including Will I Am, Jamie Foxx, Tracy Morgan and George Lopez. While the birds are running, flying and chirping for their lives another cliché love story forms between Linda and Tulio adding to the overall happy ending.
The vibrant carefree musical vibes of Brazil are seen throughout the movie giving appeal to its colorful birds. The smart vocal casting of musical artists and contemporary acting stars creates speech and choral integrity for the performances in the film. This diversity also draws an older viewing audience who actually know who the actors are, while the quick simple pace mesmerizes kids. With this being said, "Rio" is the best G film of the year for all audiences because of its built in kid safety that does not totally bore older viewers away.
Is straightforward cinema good? Yes, however, sometimes a film like "Rio" can be so straightforward that it doesn't bring anything fresh to the table. The only original aspect of the film is the fact that it takes place in Brazil "Angry Birds" style, but in the end there is no surprise. Consequently there are moments in the film that seem to drag on because the ending is already clear. Also, while Jesse Eisenberg is currently a big name actor in Hollywood, it was very awkward hearing his voice come out of the beak of a bird. His voice personified Blu in a very nerdy way, while Blu was developed as a cute naïve pet instead of a socially awkward parrot..
Ultimately, "Rio" successfully fulfills childish expectations staying true to youthful entertainment with its straightforward plot. It also avoids causing the excruciating boredom to adults present in earlier G movie releases in 2011, however, it cannot escape the fact that it is only ordinary.