Hands down the best animated film that I have seen since Pixar's Toy Story 3 last year, Rio is most definitely this year's standout animated flick. Not only is it performing well at the box office, it also boasts an all-star cast that includes Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, George Lopez, and singers will.i.am. and Jamie Foxx.
Set in the beautifully exotic Rio de Janeiro, the film follows an exotic blue macaw, Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) who is the last male breed of his kind. After growing up among human beings, particularly his owner Linda (voiced by Leslie Mann), Blu faces a huge culture shock when he arrives in Rio to mate with the last female of his breed, Jewel (voiced by Anne Hathaway). As a group of Hispanic money-hungry pet sellers tries to capture these two close-to-extinct birds, what comes out of it is a fun-filled adventure that takes viewers through the many tourist locales of Rio de Janeiro.
Although Rio's story and script was mostly predictable, it didn't mean that the movie wasn't fun. In fact, the colorful and exquisite beauty of the film's setting worked to the plot's benefit, allowing viewers to pay more attention to the breath-taking flight sequences and adventures of the movie's two main protagonist, Blu and Jewel. I thought that Anne Hathaway's voice was absolutely perfect for her character, and Jesse Eisenberg is at his best with his role as the geeky Blu. But the film's true defining aspect was the animation, which is best defined towards the end of the film at the Carnivale Parade. At the festival, luscious floats of color, bright lights, and intricate designs made me gasp in awe at how beautiful it all was.
Rio was a fun adventure, with a few laugh-out-loud moments, and is definitely a film that both the parents and their children can enjoy in unison.
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