Meh....not bad, but not Toy Story 3

Rating: 7/10 (11 April 2011)

Well..... where do i begin? Im an avid fan of anything to do with animated films, i honestly believe we will one day soon be seeing a troop of animators and voice actors walking onto the stage at the academy awards, accepting the Oscar for best picture; unfortunately RIO isn't that film. Not to say i didn't enjoy myself, I did. The scenery was absolutely stunning and in 3D!!! (IM DROOLING!) The character animation was spectacular and the characters themselves were all brilliantly voiced and varied.
The story follows Blu, a blue Macaw bereft of his childhood (chickhood?) when he falls from his nest during the films wildly fun opening song and dance sequence. He is snatched up by poachers and sent on a plane to America.
The story takes a quick turn for the adorable here when the crate containing Blu falls from the smugglers truck only to be discovered by a brilliantly animated little girl. The story zooms forward a good few years and Blu has adapted to his living with humans and is quiet comfortable how his life is set up . Blu; voiced by Jesse Eisenberg, due to his altered lifestyle, has never learned how to fly, thus adapting to use different modes of transport like toy cars and things hanging from the ceiling. (This is important as it is the catalyst for one of the last scenes and multiple physical comedic parts throughout)
This is basically the only thing Blu has to overcome throughout the entire movie to complete his character arc. He is shipped off to Rio (along with his owner and Best friend; voiced by Leslie Mann) to save his rare Blu Macaw heritage by planting his seed and ensuring the survival of his kind. There is a love interest thrust upon us, with the only other surviving Blue Macaw Jewel (voiced by Cat-women elect Anne Hathaway, a very clichéd love story in sadly an underwritten part.) As well as love interest between the two main human characters; to balance all the bird love i guess?
A new best friend is introduced, a Toucan who's name i cant even remember (it's voiced by George Lopez), who is supposed to be Blu's guide to Rio and kind of a love mentor. ( He has like 14 kids or something and never wants to stay home with them, yeah great message to kids that one!). Two hideously annoying song birds (only wasted vocals of Will.I.AM and Jamie Foxx) and a cockatoo named Nigel that is the most clichéd bad guy (bird?) on EARTH!
The visuals saved this movie, as did the heart. Even while i was been distracted by all the floats at Rio's Carnival, the Bird suits, the Jamaican bird smuggler with his 2 overly gay companions (whom they explained nothing about) and Tracy Morgan voiced Miguel's disgustingly realistic dog slobber; I was always attached to Blu's tiny little heart strings. Maybe it was because i personally knew how that bird was feeling; being out of my comfort zone and feeling i was in too deep.
A fairly run of the mill story unfold, not uncommonly found in ROM-COMS. I honestly expected Julia Roberts (in bird form) to come out at the end with her "I'm just a girl, standing in front of a guy" monologue at the end.
The climax of the film however was incredibly touching, as Blu finally "believed he could fly" (thats an R Kelly nod) and swooped down to save an injured Jewel from impending death during the closing set piece.
I normally recommend friends of my own age to view animated films, as i have become accustom to pulling deeper and more adult meanings from the subtext of these types of films, Rio however, i cannot. It's a kids movie through and through with a couple of tiny (failed) attempts at adult humor thrown in the middle, but i cant say i didn't have a good couple LOLZ in there too. Spectacular visuals, great casting and voice acting with a sound narrative. See this if you enjoyed MegaMind.
TRACY MORGAN REPRESENT!
7 out of 10