Rio 2
Directed by: Carlos Saldanha
Written by: Jenny Bicks, Yoni Brenner, Carlos Kotkin; Story by Don Rhymer & Carlos Saldanha
Voiced by: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Will.i.Am, Jamie Foxx, George Lopez, Andy Garcia, Jemaine Clement, Kristin Chenoweth, Bruno Mars, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro, Miguel Ferrer, Tracy Morgan, Rita Moreno
Animation/Adventure/Comedy/Family - 101 min
Written by: Jenny Bicks, Yoni Brenner, Carlos Kotkin; Story by Don Rhymer & Carlos Saldanha
Voiced by: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Will.i.Am, Jamie Foxx, George Lopez, Andy Garcia, Jemaine Clement, Kristin Chenoweth, Bruno Mars, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro, Miguel Ferrer, Tracy Morgan, Rita Moreno
Animation/Adventure/Comedy/Family - 101 min
Just a few months before the World Cup in Brazil kicks off, Rio 2 flies in showcasing another Brazilian adventure and even a climactic soccer match. I don’t know of any promotional tie-in between the two products, but it is quite a coincidence. Do not expect another small bird lost in the big city story either, for even though Rio de Janeiro is referenced in the title, this sequel moves to the Amazon rainforest.
Not everything has changed from 2011’s Rio; there is some sort of party in just about every other scene ensuring the stereotype of Brazil as one big drunken samba celebration continues. The costumes, the dancing, and the singing in mostly original, but still second-tier, songs are pretty much as you remember them from the first installment in this franchise.
Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (Anne Hathaway), the last two Spix’s Macaws on Earth are settled down and have three hatchlings who vary in age from a sullen pre-teen to a rambunctious little squirt. On TV, they learn about the possible existence of more Macaws a couple thousand miles away in the jungle and set off as a family to track them down. Most of the supporting characters and big-named actors from Rio such as Jamie Foxx, Will.i.Am, and George Lopez also tag along.
The first theme we encounter is a holdover from Rio; Blu feels like a fish out of water again. Now that he finally feels comfortable outside, can fly, and established new routines for himself, he is once again plucked into unfamiliar territory, a scary jungle full of predators eager to feast on him as a snack. Once the gang finds a whole village of Macaws hidden away in the trees, they label Blu a city bird and mock him for his love of humans.
The second issue Rio 2 tackles is environmentalism and preservation. Illegal loggers threaten the Macaw habitat and Blu’s human friends, Linda (Leslie Mann) and bumbling Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro) confront the evil villain behind the operation who spits out the worst insult in his vocabulary; he calls them stupid tree huggers. For those of us who remember it, Rio 2 covers very similar territory to 1992’s Ferngully: The Last Rainforest.
There is an overload of plot and sub-plots going on here yet director and co-writer Carlos Saldanha tries to make it a musical as well. You will not remember any of the songs once you leave the theater save for Jemaine Clement’s cockatoo singing a version of “I Will Survive” and maybe Kristin Chenoweth singing a star-crossed lover ode as her poisonous tree frog self can never truly be with a cockatoo. Singer Bruno Mars also shows up as a very suave Macaw but his singing talents are wasted.
The save the rainforest issue is glossed over and will not provide the children in the audience with any in-depth coverage of the material. The jokes on Blu as a city slicker in the wild are beat to the death and eventually leave a sour taste in your mouth as he relentlessly looks like a putz in front of his family and always seems to ruin the day. As for hyping the upcoming World Cup, the bird soccer game resembles Harry Potter’s quidditch matches more than the most famous sport in the world.
The original Rio was far more enjoyable than this inevitable sequel. Blue Sky Studios love to take a fresh idea and then grind it into the ground for easy money producing another family film with recognizable characters; they are also responsible for Ice Age and its 19,000 sequels. I fully expect to see the Rio characters return in a few years either lost at the Superbowl or the Olympic games.
Not everything has changed from 2011’s Rio; there is some sort of party in just about every other scene ensuring the stereotype of Brazil as one big drunken samba celebration continues. The costumes, the dancing, and the singing in mostly original, but still second-tier, songs are pretty much as you remember them from the first installment in this franchise.
Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (Anne Hathaway), the last two Spix’s Macaws on Earth are settled down and have three hatchlings who vary in age from a sullen pre-teen to a rambunctious little squirt. On TV, they learn about the possible existence of more Macaws a couple thousand miles away in the jungle and set off as a family to track them down. Most of the supporting characters and big-named actors from Rio such as Jamie Foxx, Will.i.Am, and George Lopez also tag along.
The first theme we encounter is a holdover from Rio; Blu feels like a fish out of water again. Now that he finally feels comfortable outside, can fly, and established new routines for himself, he is once again plucked into unfamiliar territory, a scary jungle full of predators eager to feast on him as a snack. Once the gang finds a whole village of Macaws hidden away in the trees, they label Blu a city bird and mock him for his love of humans.
The second issue Rio 2 tackles is environmentalism and preservation. Illegal loggers threaten the Macaw habitat and Blu’s human friends, Linda (Leslie Mann) and bumbling Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro) confront the evil villain behind the operation who spits out the worst insult in his vocabulary; he calls them stupid tree huggers. For those of us who remember it, Rio 2 covers very similar territory to 1992’s Ferngully: The Last Rainforest.
There is an overload of plot and sub-plots going on here yet director and co-writer Carlos Saldanha tries to make it a musical as well. You will not remember any of the songs once you leave the theater save for Jemaine Clement’s cockatoo singing a version of “I Will Survive” and maybe Kristin Chenoweth singing a star-crossed lover ode as her poisonous tree frog self can never truly be with a cockatoo. Singer Bruno Mars also shows up as a very suave Macaw but his singing talents are wasted.
The save the rainforest issue is glossed over and will not provide the children in the audience with any in-depth coverage of the material. The jokes on Blu as a city slicker in the wild are beat to the death and eventually leave a sour taste in your mouth as he relentlessly looks like a putz in front of his family and always seems to ruin the day. As for hyping the upcoming World Cup, the bird soccer game resembles Harry Potter’s quidditch matches more than the most famous sport in the world.
The original Rio was far more enjoyable than this inevitable sequel. Blue Sky Studios love to take a fresh idea and then grind it into the ground for easy money producing another family film with recognizable characters; they are also responsible for Ice Age and its 19,000 sequels. I fully expect to see the Rio characters return in a few years either lost at the Superbowl or the Olympic games.
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