Blinded by the lovely colors; but not brain dead to disregard plot-boilers

Rating: 7/10 (12 April 2011)

Rio is set in a carnival-like atmosphere, orchestrated by vivacious, Broadway-themed routines and sizzling, animally-carnal and sizzling dance sequences. Rio also provides an oeuvre of eccentric characters, which like various ingredients of a taste test titillate the eyes. They also manage to get along a few laughter with all their idiosyncrasies; for example, the drooling dog whose slimy slobber inadvertently comes in hand. Also the colors so brightly razzle-dazzle the screen, along with the synchrony of the dances transported me straight to the visually-arresting, larger-than-life Rio de Janeiro parade. But did the movie, the essence, the fabric stay with me ling after the end credits? Sadly not.
Blu, a precocious, protected young Macaw has been living since his babyhood with Linda, a nerdy, caring librarian and has many tricks under his sleeve, none of them involving flying (since he can't). Their fairytale life is punctuated by Tulia, a devoted ornithologist who after a quick deliberation, takes them to Rio De Janeiro to get the last male of the species (Blu, of course) to be mated with Jewel, a fiery but beautiful and independent female whose principles are islands apart from Blu's. Blu is a timorous, coy but adorable bird who enjoys human companionship while Jewel, akin other wild birds, prefers the dangerous yet sweeping jungles. Both embark on quite an epic, unpredictable journey with a multitude of characters to fit the pieces together.
Blu is perhaps the most drawn out adventure in recent years of animation. Unlike Disney, the movie has a no holds barred approach in its story making, somewhat like Casablanca. I didn't like Casablanca much, though. I thought it to be somewhat of a pastiche. Rio is a hodgepodge of collage, impromptu ideas that sometimes hit, and at others miss the mark. I'm currently getting the sixth season of Top Chef in India where a contestant named Robin too experiments the same way. A splash of colors incorporating into one grand picture, yeah, like Sidney Pollack. But Carlos Saldana is not Sydney Pollack; he's a passionate film-maker who makes entertaining movies. And Rio is quite a blast indeed. But a "dream project" as ascribed by him- not.
Rio has some nebulousness and inconsistencies in the actual vision that the director must've had at first. Throughout the film, characters fly in and out but not all succeed. Linda is gratingly voiced by Linda Mann who along with Radrigo Santoro acts cumbersome almost throughout the course of the movie. Lesley gets too synthetic and cliché in her delivery, while the scenes with Tulio are platitudinous. Rio is quirkily voiced by Jesse Eisenberg, who comes off smoothly in most of his scenes, even with those which lack finesse. Although sometimes the tone may come as calculative, analogous to his SN character and I felt not completely in love with Blu, but he surely enlightens the banality with his volubly theatrical tone. Anne supplies baritone and luminosity to her relentlessly brave Jewel, which complements Blu's nature, s some of the film's most fulfilling moments come when Jewel tries to make Blu fly while Blu helps her walk.
The subordinate entities add luster to the veneer, some in imposing colors, while others Grey and barren. The most promising are the bottle-cap donning canary and the chest-thumping Cardinal, done by Jamie Foxx and Will.i.am chirpily. Ironically, the prime song sung by the singers themselves is auto-tuned and vapid. Also, the screenplay forces them to recite cheesy catchphrases (i.e. "its birds versus monkeys!"). Rafael, the toucan and his hissy but affectionate housewife and their 17 brood do provide some laughs, but I hate when Rafael's actor is asked to iterate inane lines "Sorry, Eva. Can't come home for dinner tonight". Such dialogs really lack impact in movies. Nigel, as the tyrannous has-been performer cockatoo is cartoonish and hilarious (the "Cage tyrant" song had wonderful charm). The monkeys are added impish fun. Luiz as the harmless bulldog is perhaps the most engaging character, wittily written.
The irresoluteness of the film really takes it to a pandering extent where gags are just randomly thrown in to arch out a smile in the faces of young unwitty kids. This is where Disney/Pixar scores one over them as they have sure shot money-making plots but with a touch of heart and maturity. Rio has the heart, lacks the ripeness. And I find it hard to criticize the movie as some moments, including the color-maniacal beginning, are magical. The bumpiness could be smoothened a bit just to add the "Wow!" factor so prevalent in Disney movies (e.g. Ratatouille's awe-inspiring ending). In terms of colors and animation, it's a spectacle. But, as a movie, it is a bit trite and incoherent. Sure summer extravaganza!