The sequel to Blue Sky Studios’ smash-hit parrot adventure, Rio 2 maintains the same bright and brisk approach that helped carry its predecessor to a cool $484M box office cume, but lacks substantially in substance and emotional depth. When a hidden tribe of Spix’s Macaw’s are discovered in the Amazon, Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and his family – Jewel (Anne Hathaway) and their three chicks – leave their domesticated life in search of pastures new. Continue reading “Review: Rio 2 (2014)”
Aside from the ridiculously successful Ice Age series, Blue Sky Studios haven’t exactly had the best luck, releasing mediocre film after mediocre film that have each failed to set the box office alight. The latest of which, Epic, fails to alter that cursed streak. Hailing from director Chris Wedge, this FernGully-like animated fantasy-adventure offers very little that hasn’t been seen or done before. Continue reading “Review: Epic (2013)”
Rio is the latest animation film from Blue Sky Studios, and features the voice talents of Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez, Jemaine Clement, Leslie Mann and Jamie Foxx.
The film centers on Blu (Jesse Eisenberg), a domesticated macaw from small-town Minnesota, who, when he meets the fiercely independent Jewel (Anne Hathaway), takes off on an adventure to Rio de Janeiro with this bird of his dreams.
The peppy, action-packed and convivial screenplay – aside from struggling to sustain the party atmosphere to the end, and falling foul to the well-trodden romantic chase caper, and the trademark slapstick gags – combines charm, thrills, laughs and romance to admirable, sweet avail. It’s not overly complicated, and may feel a tad strained at times, but the approach is sharp enough to keep you entertained throughout.
The characters, including the humans, are under-developed and, no matter how top-notch the voice acting is, the dialogue feels too conventional and flaky to capture audiences attention like other, braver, animation films.
There is, however, one exception. Clement, who voices Nigel, a red-eyed cockatoo, steals every scene he’s in, even delivering a hilarious yet equally fearsome performance as the central villain.
In a technical sense, Rio is simply exquisite, with director Carlos Saldanha ensuring every scene twinkles with a remarkably high level of attention-to-detail. The 3D is crisp, richly attained with a tremendous depth of field, accentuating the glorious, picturesque scenery and wonderfully buoyant animation, and never feeling unnecessary.
The music, ranging from John Powell’s score to original songs by Taio Cruz and will.i.am, was tempestuous, but not always as soaring as you’d expect.
Rio may not be hugely original, and certainly has its share of flaws, but it has a refreshingly light, entertaining feel to it that, in addition to the superb animation and energetic voice acting, should leave you beaming from cheek to cheek.
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