Stunning animations and excellent music make this worthwhile.

Rating: 7/10 (19 April 2011)

Well, after seeing Rio recently, I feel like sharing my thoughts towards it. Walking into this film, I actually didn't know that much about it other than the fact that it was about birds in Rio De Janeiro. I saw the positives reception it was getting and what really patented my interest in it was that my good friend Vivzmind posted a journal entry gushing about how awesome this movie is. Well, here's my review, and remember, this is my opinion, not what everyone else thinks.
The plot is unfortunately one of the film's drawbacks, and it seems a shame to open up with that, but hey, writing about the plot first just feels right. As far as the story is concerned, it's your typical talking animal adventure film: a bird named Blu gets separated from his owner and has to find her. The only thing that's not been done in every film of this kind is that they also throw a romance into it. Nothing else is really that special. The villains are pretty typical as are the supporting humans, but hey, they're entertaining to watch. Probably the one major highlight of the story, though, is how the romance is handled. At first, Blu and Jewel can't stand each other, but it slowly and believably develops as the movie goes on and unlike most romances of this nature, it's not in-your-face wink-wink nudge-nudge or super-mushy. It's handled very well. You know it's going to happen, sure, but it's handled in a way that at least makes the audience want it to happen.
As for the other side characters, they're actually quite fun themselves. Rafael, the Toucan, is probably the most interesting and likable character in the film while the other two bird sidekicks, Pedro and Nico are also enjoyable. Pedro is the kind of character I would normally find irritating, but he didn't get on my nerves all that much even if just about everything he did seemed like a desperate attempt at being cool. And of course, the villainous bird, Nigel, is a good solid addition to the film and is much more interesting than his human owners, the other main villains I spoke of earlier. It's a good thing this movie focuses more on the birds than the humans, isn't it? There's also a bulldog named Luiz who I found really funny most of the time.
Speaking of funny, the humour I find to be a mixed bag. See, not only is the story average, most of the dialogue's kind of half-and-half as well. I didn't find myself getting much of a kick out of the verbal gags but I found the visual gags hilarious. It's just that half of the dialogue- related jokes seem tacked on and forced. There are also a few bad puns, too, one such example being a bit where Luiz is enjoying himself and says "This is the spit!" because he's always drooling.
The animations are a whole other thing and are one of the film's strongest points. They are just so much fun to watch. The plumage on the birds themselves is very impressive and everything is just so active and energetic that I can't help but get a kick out of watching it. Where the animations really shine is during certain moments that I'm just about to get into starting... now.
This movie's a musical... bet none of you saw that coming, did you? I may have known Tangled was going to be one despite the trailers saying otherwise, but despite this taking place in Rio, I was not expecting musical numbers. And what's more... they are incredible! The songs are so catchy and the numbers themselves are so well animated. Heck, you can find the opening number online simply titled "Rio-First 2 Minutes". That scene in itself is spectacular and the others are no exception. There are also a couple that really surprised me with how good they are. First is a song titled "Hot Wings". Normally, I would hate this kind of song. It uses so many audio effects and lyrics that seem like they're trying way too hard to be cool for the kiddies, but this song is really well-written and composed and I just love it. Another is a love ballad sung by Nico called "Fly Love". When I heard Jamie Foxx about to sing a love ballad, I wasn't sure what to think, but this song is absolutely beautiful, which is why it's a shame the dialogue kind of drowns it out. The only musical number that did not impress me too much was "Pretty Bird", the villain song naturally sung by Nigel. Not that it was a bad song or had poor choreography. No, I actually really liked those aspects. However, this scene bothered me for one simple reason: it goes almost completely against Nigel's character. Here we have an elegant, graceful villain and what does he get? A cheesy rap song. I wish I was making that up. For a cheesy rap song, yeah, it's catchy, but it's also out-of-character. Even the lyrics sound nothing like what Nigel would say. It's like the writers were desperate to make him seem "hip, cool and on the fly". Nonetheless, the music and animations are fantastic.
If it wasn't for the generic story and writing, Rio would be up there with films like Rango, which used their clichés as best as they could to make them feel fresh, or maybe even something Pixar could pump out, but those small drawbacks prevent it from being a masterpiece. That said, though, Rio is still a very enjoyable film and if you're looking for something entertaining and love animation, check it out.
Subject: Rio Score: 7/10 Would I get it on DVD?: For the fantastic music and animations, this one's a definite maybe.