Rio: three stars
Rated: PG for mild humour
There comes a time in every bird’s life when decisions have to be made. You can either sit in a cage all day, enjoying a pampered life where your owner waits on you hand and foot; or you can bust out and fly away to the wilds of Brazil, a place where the birds (and dogs) are friendly and the party never stops.
This is the dilemma that Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) must face in the new computer animated film Rio. His whole life he’s lived with his human companion Linda (voiced by Leslie Mann) in Moose Lake, Minnesota. Blu lives in the lap of bird luxury. He has everything a macaw could ask for: three square meals a day; his cage cleaned daily; even hot cocoa and chocolate chip cookies before bed. But when a nice Brazilian ornithologist named Tulio (voiced by Rodrigo Santoro) shows up in Linda’s bookstore and proclaims that Blu is the last male of his species, the two friends must choose whether or not they should make the trek to Rio and save the species, or continue to live the life they’ve grown accustomed to.
Tulio persuades Linda to bring Blu back to Brazil to meet Jewel (voiced by Anne Hathaway), the last female blue macaw, in the hopes that the two will hit it off and procreate. Things don’t go as planned, and before you know it Blu and Jewel are bird-napped by an evil group of smugglers who want to sell the last two blue macaws to the highest bidder. They manage to break free and head into the jungles of Rio.
The film itself is quite cute. Jesse Eisenberg does a great job playing the nervous and often times scared Blu. Kids are bound to love it. The colours, the music, the jovial mood of the movie – all will doubtlessly have your children tapping their feet with excitement. Parents, feel free to join in. Don’t be embarrassed. It’s carnival!
‘Til next time! See you at the movies.
