Rio is no Ice Age; Yet decently entertaining

Rating: 7/10 (15 April 2011)

What is the one thing that binds all children's movies? predictable plots but of course there are those that make predictable fresh (SHREK. Rio however shies from any experiment in the plot whatsoever. The end of the movie can be deciphered in the first 5 minutes.
That said the movie is overall very enjoyable if you go with it. There are too many moments where u just want to laugh out loud. A word of caution thought; Rio is no ice age. Its written OK; its the action that makes it enjoyable
The animation is superb (nothing less expected). The city of Rio de Janeiro is multi facetly captured (there is a lot more to it than the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer)and the use of color throughout the movie is beautiful.
About the cast and the characters, despite all of them giving a good performance there is not one character who is memorable. One may relate to the protagonist Blu but thats as far as it goes in making an impression. The two human ones are outrightly boring. Voice over is not that big a deal unless u really put yourself into the animated character (Take note Anne Hathway)
The music is pleasant but none of the tracks are going to find their way into my playlist
Overall the movie is worth a watch. Its funny, not so smart and has a great lesson.