Rio (soundtrack)

The 2011 animated musical adventure comedy film of the same name, produced by Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox Animation, and directed by Carlos Saldanha, featured two albums released for the film: an original soundtrack and an original score. Interscope Records released the film's soundtrack Rio (Music from the Motion Picture) on April 5, 2011 in digital formats, and a physical release on April 12. The album produced by the film's composer John Powell, and Brazilian musician Sérgio Mendes, featured collaborations from Brazilian and American artists, along with songs performed by the film's cast members. The music received critical acclaim from critics, praising the Brazilian influences in the music and creative choices of involving the native musicians to influence South American culture. Powell's score was a separate album, titled Rio (Original Motion Picture Score), which was released by Varèse Sarabande on April 19, 2011.
The soundtrack takes inspiration from Brazilian music, and several songs under various genres were written and produced. Brazilian musician Sérgio Mendes contributed to the soundtrack, as an executive producer with John Powell. On March 13, 2011, during his performance at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, Mendes revealed the official soundtrack list, and also announced that he would re-record the classical Brazilian song "Mas que Nada" for the film and album.
Stating his involvement in the project, Mendes said that "The film is such a celebration of Brazilian life, of Carnival, the nature, the rhythms, the joy, the sensuality. It’s nicely timed with my record." The album featured performances from the film's cast, Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Jamie Foxx, along with rapper-singer will.i.am (also featuring in the film's cast), and contributions from Brazilian artists Carlinhos Brown, Mikael Mutti, Gracinha Leporace, Bebel Gilberto, American artists Siedah Garrett, Ester Dean and British singer-songwriter Taio Cruz performing.
On March 18, 2011, Brazilian-English singer-songwriter Taio Cruz released a music video and theme song named "Telling the World" on YouTube for the soundtrack. The single was later released for digital download on March 20. The soundtrack was digitally released by Interscope Records on April 5, and was distributed in physical CD formats, the following week (April 12). will.i.am performed a remix of the track "Drop It Low", to celebrate the film's release and uploaded it on YouTube on April 11, 2011.
In the Brazilian edition some songs gained a Portuguese version performed by famous Brazilian artists such as Ivete Sangalo (replacing Ester Dean in "Take You to Rio (Remix)") and Carlinhos Brown (replacing Jamie Foxx in "Fly Love"). "Real in Rio" became "Favo de Mel" (Honeycomb) but it was performed by the same artists as the English version.
Reviewing the soundtrack, Jason Newman of MTV wrote "The toe-tapping, easily digestible rhythms inherent in so much classic Brazilian music dovetails nicely with a movie geared toward children. But since kids don't spend money, we also get Taio Cruz and will.i.am to ensure that those precious commercial demographics are hit. It's a win for 20th Century Fox; a half-win for the rest of us." Matt Collar of AllMusic wrote "Rio is a sunny, dance-oriented album well suited to the film's South American setting."
At the 39th Annie Awards, the music received a nomination for Best Music in a Feature Production but lost to John Williams for The Adventures of Tintin. The song "Real in Rio" was nominated for Best Original Song at the 84th Academy Awards, but lost to the other nominee Man or Muppet from The Muppets.
Credits adapted from CD liner notes.
As with previous Blue Sky's productions, John Powell composed the film's original score, which was released into a separate album on April 19, 2011, by Varèse Sarabande.
Filmtracks.com wrote "After Powell's stunning success with How to Train Your Dragon, his scores will inevitably be compared to that benchmark, and while Rio exhibits the same talent in its ranks, the 2011 score lacks the cohesiveness and consistently impressive passages of its predecessor. Those who don't care for the heavy, parody-like Latin influence will likely prefer the composer's recent Mars Needs Moms. Still, Powell is almost always good for a solid three stars in response to these kinds of efforts, and he achieves that rating again with ease." James Christopher Monger of AllMusic wrote "Powell, who worked on all of the Ice Age sequels, as well as King Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon, is no stranger to animated films, and his work here is both unobtrusive and effective, blending Midwest Americana and sunny tropicalismo into a tasty summer beverage."
Credits adapted from CD liner notes.