Disspointing. Don't be fooled by its bright colors. Rio is as dull as it can get.

Rating: 6/10 (3 June 2011)

Music! Dance! Colors! Parties and carnavals! That's what a movie set in Rio de Janeiro can offer, and that's what Rio offered...in a disappointing wave of let down. All the musical showcases are wonderful and beautiful, sure, and they're entertaining too! But what about the movie itself? It's shallow, uninspired and quite boring, to say the least. When the characters don't work, the music don't. And when they don't, you end up getting more joy watching backup dancers dancing than the main characters themselves.
Despite its boredom, Rio is what it's all about - being amazed by the colors and sights the city offers. You've never seen this kind of place in an animation before. The real city looks superb, but dare I say, it looks more amazing and bright in animation. The lights, statue, streets and oh, the carnaval! The carnaval is the most wonderful thing you'll ever see in a CGI movie this year. Surely the huge lineup of colors and samba will delight you, at least for a while. BUT, the movie ruins it all. The sights do take your breath away, and so does the characters (in a bad kind of way).
Let's boil down the characters - the humans are bumbling fools, the birds are flying clichés and the dog is a comic relief that's not even funny. Fine, you may say that the movie is meant for entertainment, not to be taken seriously at all. BUT hey, you'd want something solid and smart for entertainment, and I must say, Rio is the least entertaining compared to the other movies Blue Sky Studios have made. The script could've have seriously done better with the blunt and uncreative dialogue. Every word that comes out of the characters' mouth can earn you a facepalm. The plot could've worked better with better direction, pacing and editing. The musical numbers could've immortalized Rio with its upbeat songs and exciting musicals, but it didn't, because the characters didn't work. You won't feel a thing when the music plays, cause you don't give a dime's worth about the characters. There may be some nice scenes where you look at them and like them, but for most of the time, they're forgettable.
It all seems to fast in Rio; you don't have the time to truly live in the moment. I don't know why that is, maybe it's because of the direction, but whatever it is, it makes the movie bland. Voice-acting? Not the best. You can get better from a foreign movie translation, and that's me being serious. There are a few select voices that are good, but never that good. Again, that's only because of the lousy screenplay/script. It's disappointing, considering the actors hired to voice the characters.
Rio seems like an experimental animation aimed to impress audiences with its smooth pictures and colorful parades. It seems like the studio is still trying to find its ground after leaving Ice Age, but it must be said that Rio, is not their landing spot. They're still searching for a comfort zone. You can feel a bit of their style here and there, but never fully achieving that Ice Age fame.
You never quite see the culture of the city that well either, thanks to the choppy direction and aimless script. The story has too much stuff in it that it makes everything half-hearted. I don't want to compare other movies, but Rio ranks low in execution compared to other animations when it comes to showing a city's culture and mood. Rio is seen here as a city full of party. That's it. The beautiful sights are just sights, nothing more. There's no explanation, no exploration, but instead, head-on action with mindless scripting.
Must be said; Rio looks like something you'd see in a Saturday morning full-length cartoon meant for toddlers. Seriously.
If you like birds, colors and eye-popping animation, this is a no-brainer movie for you. Don't be expecting any brains or charm coming out from this movie though, and truth to be told, the animation isn't that good compared to others (the humans' expression aren't that good). Jokes are lame, most of them, at least. Characters are uninspired, voice-acting is so-so, setting is terrific but the execution is nil. If you're watching Rio, expect to stay and yearn to leave. It does nothing but shakes its tail feathers without even knowing what it's doing.
Rio, is feather-deep in everything. Enjoy! Not.