Should please kids but no one else.

Rating: 4/10 (20 April 2011)

'RIO': Two Stars (Out of Five)
Another computer animated kids film from the director of 'ICE AGE' (and it's two sequels) Carlos Saldanha. This one tells the story of a Minnesota raised Macaw, who's afraid of flying, that's taken to Rio to mate with a female macaw in order to save their species. The film is written by Saldanha (who was born in Brazil) and six other writers and is said to be his "dream project". That's kind of sad considering the film isn't very good. It's beautiful to look at but it's also filled with cheap jokes and is rather boring and predictable. It should please kids but no one else.
Jesse Eisenberg stars as the voice of Blu. Blu is a macaw who was born in Brazil but was captured, along with his family, by smugglers and shipped to Minnesota. The box that Blu was in fell off a shipping truck though and he was picked up by a small child named Linda, who named him. The movie then flashes forward 15 years when Blu is living with Linda (voiced by Leslie Mann) in a bookstore she owns. He still has not learned to fly but constantly attempts to teach himself. One day a Brazilian scientist named Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro) comes to the door and asks to take Blu with him to Brazil in order to mate him with the last female macaw named Jewel (Anne Hathaway), in an attempt to save the species. Linda and Blu reluctantly go with Tulio to Brazil but once there Blu and Jewel are kidnapped by more smugglers.
I don't usually see most animated kids films in the theater (or at all for that matter) unless they really look appealing or have gotten rave reviews (usually both). This film got decent reviews from critics and fans (not great but decent) and it also has been huge at the box office so I thought I'd give it a try. The film reminded me why I don't see most animated kids films; they're a waste of time and money (if you see them in the theater). Sure the computer animation looks beautiful but that's not enough to keep my interest and with this film I really had a hard time staying interested. I found my mind drifting a lot after witnessing repeated silly jokes and a completely uninvolving string of events (which is the movie's excuse for a story). I like Jesse Eisenberg (he's another reason I thought I might like the movie) and he does decent voice work here but all the supporting comedic players are so tired and played out (including George Lopez, Wanda Sykes, Jamie Foxx and Will i Am). The movie just has nothing of any interest or entertainment value to offer anyone over the age of ten (other than good visuals) and a decent kids film should.
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