Great animation, but not good as the director's previous Ice Age movies...

Rating: 6/10 (24 May 2011)

The movie in general is good, the plot and design of everything from the animals to the city is really good, but...I just felt that there was something missing. There's not a lot of laugh-out-loud moments like there was in the director's previous Ice Age movies which are one of my favorite animated movies of all time. This movie lacked the humour which should have been given the main focus. But nevertheless, the most astonishing side of the film is the luminous vision of Rio de Janeiro and its carnival.
Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) is a talking baby macaw, who is taken from his habitat in Brazil and smuggled in a box to the United States. Falling off the back of a truck, he is given a home by Linda (Leslie Mann). They grow up together in a domestic environment and by copying her he never learns how to fly properly. Years later and a scientist named Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro) finds Linda working in a bookstore. He tells her that Blu is one the last of his kind and that he should be taken back to Brazil briefly so that he can mate with a female macaw. Linda reluctantly agrees. When placed in a cage Blu meets Jewel (Anne Hathaway), a feisty bird who is intent of escaping and is impatient to Blu's dithering. When the breeding facility is raided by smugglers, Blu and Jewel are caught and chained together in a cage. They have to learn to work together so that they can escape and find Blu's owner again.
Rio Rio" is set in the exotic Brazil, amidst the world famous carnival. However, the film does not capture the same uplifting spirit. There is only enough excitement for young kids, but little for adults to enjoy. Sure, the visuals are very good, with great colours and smooth animation. The aerial scenes of Rio de Janeiro is breathtaking, but the visuals alone are not enough to make "Rio" a success. The movie is a colourful one, but unfortunately not in a metaphoric manner. It is watchable, one can give it that, but also forgettable.
Eisenberg and Hathaway are just perfect as the leads. So are all the all the supporting characters, especially my favorite Nico and Pedro voiced by Jamie Foxx and Will i Am, they were really funny. The soundtrack is one of the main plus-point of the movie. Some tunes are really catchy.
This is a simple animated film for children who are going to love the monkeys and the birds, but they are also going to be nicely demonstrated that birds are so much better off and nicer in their natural environment. All the animals are cute and are likable, so are the human protagonists. Its a fun movie, not just that great as it could be. I rate it 6.5 out 10 for the beautiful scenery and awesome animation.