Real in Rio nominated for Academy Awards
Rio is a 2011 American computer-animated musical adventure comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox Animation, and directed by Carlos Saldanha. The title refers to the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, where the film is set. The film features the voices of Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro, Jemaine Clement, George Lopez, Tracy Morgan, will.i.am, and Jamie Foxx. It tells the story of Blu (Eisenberg), a domesticated male Spix's macaw who is taken to Rio de Janeiro to mate with a free-spirited female Spix's macaw, Jewel (Hathaway). The two eventually fall in love, and together they have to escape from being smuggled by Nigel (Clement), a cockatoo.
Saldanha developed his first story concept of Rio in 2005, in which a penguin is washed up in Rio. Saldanha learned of the production of the films Happy Feet (2006) and Surf's Up (2007), and changed the concept to involve macaws and their environments in Rio. He proposed his idea to Chris Wedge in 2006, and the project was set up at Blue Sky. The main voice actors were approached in 2009. During production, the crew visited Rio de Janeiro and also consulted with an expert on macaws at the Bronx Zoo to study their movements.
Rio premiered on March 22, 2011, in Lagoa, Rio de Janeiro, followed by its general release on April 15, 2011, by 20th Century Fox. The film received generally positive reviews from film critics, who praised the visuals, voice acting and music. The film was also a box office success, grossing over $143 million in the United States and $484 million worldwide. The film was nominated for Best Original Song for the song "Real in Rio" at the 84th Academy Awards, but lost to the other nominee, "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets. A sequel, Rio 2, was released on April 11, 2014.
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