Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, and George Lopez
Rated G
Running time 96 minutes
As a baby, a blue macaw is stolen from Rio de Janeiro by rare bird smugglers, but is rescued by a young girl in America when his cage falls from the truck transporting him. The girl, Linda (Leslie Mann) grows up with her new best friend, Blu (Jesse Eisenberg). When a Brazilian ornithologist arrives on the scene, asking Linda to return Blu to Rio for mating purposes, this truly adorable story really begins.
Jewel (Anne Hathaway) is Blu’s intended mate, but she is only interested in escaping, which she manages to do with Blu in tow. The problem: Blu can’t fly. The adventure revolves around the events of reuniting Blu and Linda safely.
There are bad guys in this story of course, in the form of bird smugglers, but also some really fun sidekicks with some priceless lines. The music and musical numbers are very entertaining as well.
I watched Rio with my thirteen year-old daughter, and couldn’t believe, once the movie got going, that we hadn’t watched it sooner. In fact, since our first viewing, we’ve seen it two more times – we especially enjoy the opening scene when Blu is a baby. The animation is tremendous, and you just want to scoop up little Blu and ruffle his cute baby feathers.
Did we enjoy Rio? Yes! Do we think other families would enjoy Rio? Yes!
So I mentioned this theme of mating – it is handled so vaguely, that I don’t think parents of young children will get questions that they can’t easily answer. There is a bad-guy cockatoo that could scare some younger members of the family (five and under maybe?), but I will recommend Rio for full family viewing. It is sweet, funny (some really fine laugh-out-loud moments), fun, and entirely entertaining.
So truly, if you haven’t seen it yet, and you’re looking for a fun flick for family movie night, try Rio. You won’t be disappointed.
Reviewed by Karen Cantwell
