“Rio” soared into theaters on April 15th, raking in $40 million and becoming the film with the highest-grossing opening weekend so far this year.
Rio tells the story of Blu, a rare blue macaw voiced by Oscar nominee Jesse Eisenberg. Blu lives a sheltered life with his doting owner Linda (Leslie Mann) until a quirky ornithologist named Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro) shows up and informs Linda that Blu is the last male of his species. In order for the species to survive, he says, they must go to Brazil so Blu can mate with the last female blue macaw, a spirited wild bird named Jewel (Anne Hathaway.)
Things don’t go quite as planned, however, and Blu and Jewel find themselves chained together and kidnapped by smugglers.
The result is a bright, entertaining animated film that is perfect for the entire family. Eisenberg is perfect for the quirky, neurotic Blu, who seems more human than bird, and Hathaway was a pleasant surprise as tough-girl Jewel.
The cast of this adventure is full of quirky characters- a bird-loving, drool-ridden bulldog named Luiz (Tracy Morgan); two loud-mouthed, big-talking birds named Pedro (Will.i.am) and Nico (Jamie Foxx); a bitter celebrity-turned-criminal cockatiel named Nigel (Jemaine Clement) and a toucan named Rafael (George Lopez) whose heart is as big as his beak.
Full of bright colors and hilarious dialogue, this animated escapade is one the entire family will enjoy.
