Rio 3-D

Animated movies used to be the laughing stock of the movie world. Every once in a while Disney would put out something great but on the whole animated films were mostly for kids. This decade we have seen a surge of animated films that not only kids enjoy but adults enjoy as well. I think that this is a sign of an industry that is more worried about quality than quantity. This has almost nothing to do with Rio but I just wanted to say it anyways. I guess I am super excited for Cars 2.

Rio is the story of Blu (Jesse Eisenberg). A blue (get it?) Macaw from South America that was kidnapped by some mean poachers. He somehow ended up in Minnesota of all places. After his box falls off a very distracted drivers truck (you are carrying exotic animals, learn to drive) Blu is found by Linda (Leslie Mann) a young Minnesotan girl who devotes her life to taking care of Blu. They grow up, start a book store together and are generally inseparable. But there's a catch, Blu is the only remaining male blue macaw on Earth. So after some convincing by a Brazilian bird scientist, Leslie brings Blu to Brazil to mate with the only remaining female blue macaw named Jewel (Anne Hathaway). OF course it wouldn't be a full movie if that's all they did, they both get kidnapped by bird poachers. Linda runs around Brazil trying to find them, while both macaws do their best to escape the bad guys. Oh and there's one catch, Jewel and Blu are chained together at their feet and Blu can't fly.

First off I would like to say that 3-D sucks. It has almost no point except to drain my wallet. It doesn't add anything except a little depth and it certainly isn't worth it. 3-D needs to 3-Die. Secondly, the creators of Rio animated the cutest baby bird I have ever seen in my entire life. I don't care if it wasn't real, my heart melted seeing baby Blu whimper softly in the cold Minnesotan winter. So cute.

Anyways, Rio has one very strong strength. It has an incredibly voice cast. Jamie Foxx, Will.i.am., George Lopez, Leslie Mann, Tracy Morgan, and especially Jemaine Clement show great voice over work. Jemaine Clement as the evil bird Nigel is fantastic. He never ceases to amaze me with his ability to make me laugh. Unfortunately, this is also Rio's weakness, mostly in the form of Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway. Jesse just did not seem the right fit for Blu and it was hard to empathize with the character. Every time he talked I just wanted to leave. Anne Hathaway adds nothing special either, the supporting cast does all the work.

Rio is as predictable as they come, but it is beautifully animated and has a very good supporting cast. Not a franchise starter but a decent matinee for the young ones. Just don't see it in 3-D.

2 1/2 stars out of 4

-Christopher O'Connell