Posts
2011, 04-19:
Review of film: “RIO” in 3-D
“Birds of a Feather” should FLOCK to be TOGETHER at this...
... It’s not always easy being a bird: When young, you have to rely on others to have a place to live, food to eat and proper information & “instructions” to build a good future for yourself...
... As this animated film begins (with a finely colorful, energetic and catchy song about “FEATHERS” being sung by a bunch of tropical birds in Brazil), we see a gaggle of happy creatures flying around a jungle area...
... In a tree we find a blue macaw (parrot) named Blu (voiced by JESSE EISENBERG) laying comfortably in a nest. When he looks out on the cheerful scene, he falls out of the nest & realizes he still hasn’t been taught how to FLY...
... In short order, he & various other inhabitants there are captured by illegal exporters & shipped to other countries to make a profit for the kidnappers... Blu ends up in cold Minnesota, happily cared for by a young girl named Linda who grows up to become a nerdy book-seller lady (voiced by LESLIE MANN)...
... Jesse grows up to a very smart bird, tho he never has learned how to FLY in all these years... He’s made fun of by two Canadian geese visting the area, Chloe (WANDA SYKES) & Alice (JANE LYNCH)...
... One day, Leslie is visited by a a “flighty” Brazilian scientist named Túlio (RODRIGO SANTORO), who explains that he wants Leslie to bring Jesse BACK to Rio, as he’s seemingly the last remaining male blue macaw & they want to try to mate him and save the species from growing extinct...
... After being initially skeptical, she ACCEPTS his offer for them to be flown to Brazil... Once there, they meet the pretty female macaw named Jewel (voiced by ANNE HATHAWAY). Jesse is embarrassed to tell her he’s unable to FLY (as she can), & insists they must walk to various places...
... In time, they meet some other local birds, including Pedro (WILL.I.AM) & Nico (JAMIE FOXX)... Jesse would like to become “closer” to Anne, but he’s appropriately “SHY” in how he behaves and talks to her in the shelter...
... Not everyone gives Jesse a “warm welcome”: at the bird refuge, a seemingly-injured cockatoo named Nigel (JEMAINE CLEMENT) is actually operating on behalf of SMUGGLERS. He works to let them in, including a young orphan boy named Fernando (JAKE T. AUSTIN), who helps steal Jesse & Anne & brings them to his “bosses”...
... Chief crook Marcel (CARLOS PONCE) wants to SELL the macaws to a high bidder, along with other exotic birds they’ve stolen. He’s assisted by heavyset Tipa (JEFFREY GARCIA) & tall Armando (DAVI VIEIRA), neither of whom is very “bright”... They imprison Jesse & Anne in a cage, shackled together by leg irons...
... Clever Jesse eventually helps engineer an ESCAPE for himself & Anne, but they are pursued by “dirty bird” Jemaine, the smugglers, and an army of marmoset monkeys led by Mauro (BRIAN BAUMGARTNER)...
... Luckily, Jesse & Anne meet some HELPFUL creatures as they try to get back to Leslie: a group of Toucan birds led by papa Rafael (GEORGE LOPEZ), his drool-challenged bulldog friend Luiz (TRACY MORGAN), various birds such as roseate spoonbill Kipo (BERNANDO DE PAULA), and others...
... Will Jesse & Anne be able to escape during the CARNIVALE celebrations?... Will they be captured again by the smugglers?... Will Jesse ever learn to FLY, & will that help him in life?... Will he ever be able to get really “with” Anne?...
... I found the film to be a cute & WELL-done bit of animation: it has well-delineated characters, good vocal work behind the widely-divergent “personalities”, colorful & effective animations, high-quality musical numbers (with catchy and clever songs), and a lot of ENJOYMENT for both young and old...
... Thus, I’m rating this at 8.0 out of 10 stars...
[ NOTE: You can easily SHARE this Posting with your friends or family by sending them an e-mail LINK via clicking on the “M” button in the lower left-hand corner... ]
(o_
/\
/\
= = = … ( <> ^ <> ) ...
No comments:
Post a Comment