Rio 2, the soaring sequel to the animated hit Rio, makes its debut in the Xfinity On Demand digital store this week giving Xfinity TV families the ability to own and enjoy the film on the TV at home or on the go as they pack up for summer vacations While more than 20 million Xfinity TV digital subscribers now have the ability to purchase their favorite movies and tv shows with just the click of a remote, life was not always so easy renting a movie meant getting in your car and making the journey to your local video store usually to be disappointed that the new release movie you wanted was out of stock so you were left taking a gamble on a few movies that you never heard of TV viewing was by appointment only and "high definition" was either unheard of or unattainable for the typical consumer.  Fast forward to today -- Hi Def is the new norm , TV answers to our schedules and virtually any movie TV show or game is available to rent or own at a moment's notice.  Today’s consumer is empowered, connected digitally and in control of their entertainment experiences, making the connection to entertainment more emotional and personal than ever before raising the bar for companies to provide more content Consumers spent more than $18 billion on movies TV shows and video games (home entertainment) in 2013 with a growing percentage being spent on movies and TV shows accessed digitally Leading the digital video revolution is Digital HD a moniker that represents technology that offers audiences convenient and early access to movies weeks before they are available on disc.  So far this year, movies and TV shows purchased with Digital HD increased by 50 percent to more than $1 billion By 2015, these figures are only expected to increase we have seen huge success on Digital HD across our entire collection of film and television Grand Budapest Hotel and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty to TV shows such as fan favorites Sons of Anarchy and 24 digital ownership is quickly becoming the medium of choice for consumers since launching their digital store last fall Xfinity has consistently been one of the top digital sellers in the country and Comcast customers have exceeded our expectations around titles like Robocop Enough Said and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. And today we are releasing Rio 2 on Digital HD and Xfinity On Demand one of the biggest families movies at the box office this year and we anticipate continued success.  One of the key factors driving this Digital HD trend is the increase in pay-TV providers entering the space Comcast started selling digital titles last fall and immediately became one of the top digital sellers in the market  With Xfinity TV customers viewing over 400 million On Demand entertainment choices every month, consumers can purchase and access digital movies and TV shows from their living rooms with just a click of the remote and store them switching devices or remembering passwords.  Twentieth Century Fox and Comcast believe everything starts with the customer we’re relentlessly exploring new and innovative ways to deliver great content that compliments today's digital lifestyle. We’ve been on this digital journey with you from the beginning The consumer is evolving – and so are we.  Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Reviews When a tiny lovelorn frog bellowing a Broadway-style torch song hits one of the few high notes of “Rio 2″—an unnecessary animated sequel that presumably exists because the first “Rio” grossed a robust $485 million worldwide—you know something is off-key Not that the number doesn’t deserve to stand out considering the singer behind the amorous amphibian is Kristin Chenoweth, an Ethel Merman-class belter who is both riveting and ribbit-ing as a purple-and-pink croaker named Gabi. But her performance, inspired by an unrequited crush on vengeful cockatoo Nigel (once again voiced with pungent derision by Jemaine Clement who gets his own showstopper with a rap-infused version of “I Will Survive”) should not be the main takeaway in a story that is primarily about a family reunion of tropical parrots It’s a sign of creative desperation of sorts that this return trip to South America is so over-stuffed with subplots and extraneous new characters that it barely stops flapping its plot-propelling wings for a second “Rio 2” ends up being not so much about the birds as mostly for the birds The 2011 original dared to touch upon the issue of rampant poverty in the frenzied Brazilian party city of Rio de Janeiro while following a pair of rare blue macaws who fall in love despite their differences What distinguished that outing from other recent cartoon flights of fancy was the way the furry-and-feathered wisecrackers were grounded by intoxicating cultural flourishes rump-shaking rhythms and real-world urban surroundings we are forced to deal with the avian version of “Meet the Parents,” a less-than-compelling eco-message about chopping down habitats a soccer match that takes place in the sky and a jungle version of Amazon’s Got Talent as a string of exotic creatures audition as Carnaval entertainers For every visually dazzling 3-D musical moment—such as when the brilliantly hued macaws swirl about in formation as if choreographed by Busby Berkeley (or should that be Beak-eley?)—there is some dull business involving Blu’s former owner Linda (Leslie Mann) and ornithologist hubby Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro) who also journey to check out the newly discovered macaws At the point where one and all engage in a showdown with a gang of generically villainous lumber snatchers, “Rio 2” has exhausted its limited amount of charm. Most regrettably, Rita Moreno appears in her first movie in eight years as Jewel’s overbearing Aunt Mimi but is barely allowed to make an impression Don’t illegally destroy trees—but don’t waste the talents of a true legend Susan Wloszczyna spent much of her nearly thirty years at USA TODAY as a senior entertainment reporter Now unchained from the grind of daily journalism she is ready to view the world of movies with fresh eyes The movie has less actual nutritional value than 10 bowls of crushed Froot Loops dust Though there isn’t a fruit-flavored hue that isn’t jammed into every single corner of screen space in Rio 2 the movie has less actual nutritional value than 10 bowls of crushed Froot Loops dust 20th Century Fox’s sequel to the already dubious 2011 film would seem far too endlessly hyperventilating and self-stimulating a way to keep kids from barreling toward a spaz attack on a Saturday afternoon But since the last one was a sizeable hit without having garnered much positive reinforcement from critics (childless or otherwise) the nourishment that comes from a balanced cinematic diet probably won’t be at issue even parents accustomed to taking a luxurious mental nap at these things will likely note the irony of how emphatically the movie’s nebbish hero is taken to task for not enjoying the splendor of nature with his mate Believing themselves to be the only remaining specimens of their kind the avian clan have been living like kings (or like humans) within their posh nature preserve digs While they’re been flipping pancakes and creating iPod playlists who brought Blu and Jewel together in the first film have been tracking down what appears to be a whole undiscovered colony of Spix macaws deep in the Amazon A colony that also happens to be perched in a swath of trees a lollipop-addled logger intends to raze and in case anyone needed more narrative clutter that Cockatoo ham Nigel who got sucked into a plane engine in the first film wants to kill Blu as well the busy Rio 2 centralizes Blu only out of obligation which is an odd and dissatisfying fit for a film that removes the entire identity Blu has constructed for himself as a protected class The clueless bird is for most of the film entirely unaware of the threat posed by both the shady loggers and the now flightless and grudge-drudging Nigel And instead of using those thousands of blue-winged brothers and sisters to send its protagonist into a crisis of character Rio 2 settles for fish-out-of-water yuks aimed at the city-slicker pet bird who can’t go anywhere without his fanny pack The net effect is a shapeless would-be diversion in which things just happen independently The solitary benefit is that nothing gets in the way of the fringe benefits Nigel’s travel companion and literal toady Gabi nurses a tragic and biologically improbable crush on her nefarious mentor Gabi’s torment at not being able to make physical contact with her regal object of desire emerges in the bathetic 11th-hour “Poisonous Love,” a biting invasion of Boublil-Schönberg territory And there’s a maniacal sense of humor feeding the montage of jungle talent-show auditions in which one Amazonian act after another gets devoured by the bigger One can only hope the same fate falls upon this series because the only lesson Rio 2 imparts is that birds of a feather suck together Eric Henderson is the web content manager for WCCO-TV His writing has also appeared in City Pages document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id" "ace3fcc1083236ac967e185772d608ba" );document.getElementById("facec42938").setAttribute( "id" and website in this browser for the next time I comment The gang’s all here again in “Rio 2,” a bright animated musical that’s sure to please the kids in the audience and likely to at least hold the interest of the grownups Jesse Eisenberg is back as the neurotic Blu a suburban spix’s macaw now living in Rio de Janeiro along with his wife When a television report tips Jewel off that their family might not be the only blue spix’s macaws left on earth the crew flies into the heart of the Amazon to find the rest of their family and meet up with Blu’s former caretakers Linda and Tulio they attract the attention and ire of Nigel a clipped-wing cockatoo with a penchant for theatricality and a thirst for revenge having been foiled by Blu in the first "Rio" movie Along with a silent anteater and a singing poison dart frog (Kristen Chenowith) a group of loggers is determined to slash and burn their way through the jungle even if it means disrupting Linda and Tulio’s efforts to save their newly found flock of blue spix’s macaws The three plot lines compete for attention equal-in-time characters in the first film And the picture ends with an unlikely battle against the loggers that reminded me of “Avatar.” There are moments of pure joy in “Rio 2,” such as Gabi the frog’s song of unrequited love for Nigel the cockatoo as Blu tries desperately to connect with Jewel’s extended family but mostly it's a colorful way to spend an hour and a half “Rio 2” also brings back composer John Powell ("How To Train Your Dragon") whose score is infused with the sounds and musicians of Brazil and Powell should pick up a second Oscar nomination provided the Academy doesn’t feel he's leaning too hard on his collaborators there may be enough time to get “Rio 3” completed by August 5 take note: there are quick scenes of animals eating other animals and a death scene that mimics the suicide of Romeo & Juliet (the animals don’t really die) I was supposed to review the first RIO two years ago but on the way to the Saturday morning press screening my daughters and I were involved in a car accident which caused us to miss it We caught up with the movie a couple of weeks later but I fell asleep and can’t remember a thing about it I don’t fall asleep at movies often and never at ones I’m planning on reviewing (I fall asleep in church a lot – my wife’s always elbowing me in the ribs since I snore) Other films I’ve slept through include THE SCORE (w/ DeNiro) In 1992 I slept through most of MAP OF THE HUMAN HEART at the Shady Oak Theater in Clayton all the other patrons had moved to seats as far away from me as possible I slept through much of the Late Night Grindhouse midnight screening of PHANTASM which embarrassed my friends These are things I was thinking about when I took a different route to the same theater to see the second RIO film We arrived safely this time and I stayed awake but while RIO 2 is better than being in a car crash reaching the current high bar in terms of animation but suffers badly from a weak the makers of the Ice Age films (I saw those and don’t remember them either!) Blu the blue Macaw (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) and his wife Jewel (Anne Hathaway) who take a vacation along with their three children and some characters who may or may not be returning from the first film to the Amazon rainforest after seeing a TV report about a pack of fellow blue macaws that may be living there are already there but have encountered evil land developers Blu’s adventures include meeting Jewel’s former sweetheart Roberto (Bruno Mars) a smooth singer who brings out his jealous side and Eduardo (Andy Garcia – whose carton voice we’ve all been yearning for!) the most intimidating father-in-law since DeNiro spooked Greg Focker Things get even worse when gnarly cockatoo Nigel (Jemaine Clement) shows up for revenge and bulldozers roll in to destroy their new habitat The screenplay for RIO 2 (by six writers!) contains a big obvious environmental message about the the destruction of the rainforest and does so from the inhabitant’s viewpoint but scenes of the blue heroes battling bulldozers intent on demolishing their paradise were done better in AVATAR I liked Eisenberg’s nebbish quality but no vocals stood out RIO 2 gives the audience a series of Busby Berkeley–style musical numbers featuring explosions of colored feathers and dancing that are supposed to be highlights but feel like filler the songs are forgettable and fail to move the story forward They’re shiny objects designed to capture the kid’s attention and to keep me awake A low point is Jemaine Clement croaking a rap version of the ‘70s disco anthem ‘I Will Survive’ (and I thought until the final credits I was hearing Jeremy Irons’ voice – which made it even worse!) Following the success of THE LEGO MOVIE it should be clear that children desire and welcome smart creative entertainment but state of the art computer animation is not enough RIO 2 is an innocuous enough way to keep tots entertained for 90 minutes or so This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025 The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media "Rio 2" is colorful and vibrant and cracks a few good jokes here or there albeit one that feels like several animated features audiences have seen and forgotten long before As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St Norbert College Times as a high school student Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater The animated movie "Rio 2" is definitely a colorful vibrant offering that will appeal to the target audience (children) Starring Jesse Eisenberg as the voice of Blu who have started a family since the last movie and when a flock of fellow blue macaws are discovered in the jungle Blu and Jewel pack up the kids and journey with their friends Pedro (will.i.am) Luiz (Tracy Morgan) and Raphael (George Lopez) Also on their scent is the previous movie's antagonist Shakespeare-quoting Nigel (Jemaine Clement and his poisonous dart-frog groupie Gabi (Kristen Chenowith While the story is a bit stale and stalls in a few places kids and adults will be entertained by the colorful musical numbers and vibrant animation This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page "Rio 2" is chock-full of colorful 3-D wonder and jubilant musical numbers set against a tale of family dynamics and environmental dilemmas The sequel opens with a vibrant New Year's Eve bash as partying in the music-filled streets of Rio de Janeiro is punctuated by fireworks bursting above the Christ the Redeemer statue more emphasis has been placed on the music of this film which benefits numbers by artists including Bruno Mars (who also voices the smooth bird Roberto in the film) Janelle Monae and celebrated Brazilian musician Carlinhos Brown After mating in Brazil in 2011's "Rio," rare macaws Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (Anne Hathaway) now have three lively kids who have become accustomed to the same domestication Blu was brought up on in Minnesota They're attached to gadgets such as iPods and eat pancakes for breakfast But the family heads off to the Amazon rainforest when they get wind that a tribe of blue macaws may live there and are being pursued by Blu's past owner and animal lover With a few of the quirky supporting characters from the first film in tow — including birds voiced by George Lopez (as frisky toucan Rafael) and Jamie Foxx and will.i.am (as rapping canary-and-cardinal duo Nico and Pedro) — they soar through a dazzling journey to the rainforest making the often-wasted 3-D effect worth it as we take in the broad scope and graphically layered flair Jewel discovers the large macaw crew is led by her long-lost father (Andy Garcia) who is unimpressed with his daughter's choice of a mate He can't help but roll his eyes over Blu's use of a GPS or a Swiss Army kit rather than the use of his own sharp beak But their classic in-law banter is sublimely comical Brazilian native writer-director Carlos Saldanha and Don Rhymer returned to pen the story But they try too hard to make up for the minimalist plot of the original and drown in subplots: Blu battles with Jewel over staying in the wild versus returning to the city; Linda and Tulio clash with a few bad guys threatening to cut down the rainforest (the film's eco push); and Blu's old rival Niguel (Jemaine Clement of "Flight of the Conchords") pops up with a beautiful yet poisonous neon pink and purple frog (an angelic and cutesy Kristin Chenoweth) plotting revenge And then there are the moments when characters break out into song Niguel's hotshot rendition of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" seems a little ill-set when he really should be crooning a sinister track a la Ursula's "Poor Unfortunate Souls" in "The Little Mermaid." The sweet voice of Hathaway shines with her solo lullaby But it's Chenoweth's Broadway-like delivery that trumps all when she belts out an anthem on forbidden love Though the original songs here are whimsical and fun it's a wonder this kids' movie is only five minutes longer than the original But for the music and brilliantly picturesque look Things you buy through our links may earn Vox Media a commission For all the cacophony of the movies themselves there’s something to be said for the personal nature of the Rio franchise Conceived by Brazilian director Carlos Saldanha as a way to highlight the culture and biodiversity of his native land both the first Rio and now its sequel are at times too idiosyncratic to ignore You can see it in the opening moments of Rio 2 as the camera travels across the water and arrives at a Rio de Janeiro teeming with white-clad citizens singing and dancing to greet the New Year This is actually a thing – on New Year’s Eve the citizens of Rio (and armies of tourists) don white and crowd the beaches and the streets But Saldanha has re-imagined them as an almost heavenly choir – everybody sings in unison the most enchanting parts of Rio 2 are these moments that betray the personal quality of the whole project The film follows Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) and his wife the star-crossed blue Spix’s macaws of the first film who now have a whole family together as they leave their comfortable bourgeois city life behind for the Amazon; they’ve just learned that there may be a whole tribe of their rare kind out there Saldanha gives us an extended scene charting their course through various cities in Brazil other than to basically show animated versions of different cities in Brazil I wanted to pack my bags right then and there He also implies that she may have been better off married to her hunky childhood friend Roberto (Bruno Mars) with his fanny pack and his GPS and his breath mints I’m sure someone has already made a Meet the Parrots joke when the birds’ habitat is threatened by some craven Shakespearean-trained cockatoo whom Blu had sent into an airplane engine in the first film Blu’s friends Nico the canary (Jamie Foxx) and Pedro the cardinal (will.i.am) also tagged along on the trip and they’re organizing a talent-scouting event to try to find a performer for a musical celebration the evil cockatoo sees his chance and takes it with a rendition of “I Will Survive” that’s almost a literal show-stopper – it’s funny the talent-scouting subplot has already featured an almost nauseatingly diverse array of musical numbers ranging from disco to samba to hip-hop to Broadway show tunes (best bit: the slo-mo Capoeira frogs) But the dizzyingly indiscriminate nature of the songs and the gags get tiresome after a while and they threaten to turn the film into a meaningless noise and color machine The LEGO Movie showed us how a kids’ blockbuster could be overstuffed with eclecticism and still retain a sense of purpose And Frozen demonstrated that not every hit musical toon has to be so aggressively hip Rio 2 is a more modest enterprise – it wants to keep the kids entertained and make a quick bajillion dollars around the world But during those aforementioned moments when the seams show when you realize that Saldanha probably has something at stake in this film you wish Rio 2 had the smarts and the inventiveness to match its scattered bursts of ambition Password must be at least 8 characters and contain: you’ll receive occasional updates and offers from New York Pedro: Like, the website? Your Ads Privacy ChoicesIMDb Now playing at Wildhorse Stadium Cinemas Everyone has a favorite ornithological cliché, whether it’s about birds of a feather flocking together or a bird in the hand being worth two in the bush. In the case of “Rio 2,” the appropriate saying seems to be “kill two birds with one stone” because having a second movie doesn’t make the first one any better Spix’s macaws Blu and Jewel (voices of Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway) have got it made living in urban Rio de Janeiro with their three children Carla while Jewel thinks their little nest has gotten a tad too domesticated News that their species may not be as rare as they once thought leads Jewel to push Blu and the kids into accompanying her to the Amazon rainforest to see if this is true Leaving behind the creature comforts of home for the wild is bad enough for the overly cautious Blu but the dangers of the jungle are nothing compared to when he meets his father-in-law immediately making a bad first impression on a bird that already distrusts humans and anyone who associates with them Even worse is the fact that Blu and Jewel’s old enemy the crazed cockatoo Nigel (Jemaine Clement) is seeking revenge and a group of loggers are threatening to tear down the macaws’ habitat This family vacation suddenly seems a lot less fun… Eisenberg’s propensity for nervous mumbling and panicky exclamations again make him a good fit for Blu barely any more stalwart than he was when we first him the difference being he’s at least mastered flying by now most birds neither need nor want a GPS in their fanny pack a fanny pack looks just as touristy on a parrot as it does on a human Hathaway’s exuberance is just as apparent when she’s playing a cartoon character with a beak as the mom who wants her chicks — trendy Carla bookworm Bia and daredevil Tiago — to have the same freedom she had before being stuck in captivity fending off the advances of her old boyfriend will.i.am and Jamie Foxx return as the three amigos: Rafi the toucan The trio is looking for new musical talent among the Amazon’s animals but their most promising prospect gets swallowed whole by a jaguar that’s what you get for singing a selection from “Cats.” Clement is even better as the maniacal Nigel helped along by a poison dart frog (Kristin Chenoweth) whose fawning personality is almost as toxic as her body chemistry Leslie Mann and Rodrigo Santoro return as Linda and Tulio unexpectedly getting mixed up in the activities of a shady industrialist (Miguel Ferrer) like most animated eco-villains of the last couple decades hasn’t learned the lesson that nature is awesome a moral Hollywood feels the need to screech at us again and again There’s nothing really wrong with this story of animals rediscovering their roots except that we’ve seen it before — a lot Blue Sky Studios does good work in the smart look and exciting motions of its characters a winner here when it comes to the scene involving a showdown between the blue macaws and their scarlet rivals that looks like air soccer or Quidditch minus the brooms Nobody’s arguing that something like this isn’t a hoot to watch in 3-D none of these birds is all that intriguing a reminder that you’ve got to work twice as hard to write animated characters so they’re relatable because the voice actors can only do so much proving the first feature was more than enough the idea for a trilogy is undoubtedly already hatching in the minds of executives so let’s hope they can make a third movie a little less bird-brained Contact Andy Bockelman at 970-875-1793 or abockelman@CraigDailyPress.com or follow him on Twitter @TheBocksOffice Readers around Craig and Moffat County make the Craig Press’ work possible Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage Sign up for daily and breaking news headlines Manage Subscriptions View Results SaveSave this storySaveThe Red Hot Organization was founded in 1989 with a noble if idiosyncratic mission: to fight AIDS through pop culture the general public was just beginning to understand what AIDS actually was and how it could be transmitted Red Hot's decision to raise money for AIDS research by selling themed albums featuring prominent musicians helped raise awareness as well as funds sold more than a million copies and made millions of dollars for AIDS-focused non-profits By | 04/15/2014 2:58 pm | 13 Comments Blue Sky’s Rio 2 failed to unseat Captain America 2 at the box office last weekend and settled for a second-place opening of $39.3 million The opening was virtually identical to the original Rio’s $39.2 million opening in 2011 As far as 2014 children’s animated films go Rio 2 topped The Nut Job’‘s $19.4M debut and Mr though it didn’t come anywhere near The LEGO Movie’s debut of $69.1M Whether Rio 2 achieved the number one spot is irrelevant in this case The Carlos Saldanha-directed film performed close to expectations for the U.S which isn’t as important for Blue Sky franchises as other studios none of the Ice Age sequels or the original Rio made more than 30% of their global gross in the United States Rio 2 will end up performing disproportionately stronger in overseas markets than in the United States the film pulled in $62.3M from foreign territories boosting its international total to $125.2M Disney’s Frozen scored an additional $8.4M from global audiences mostly from Japan where it has been the number one film for five weeks in a row Its global total of $1.11 billion has now surpassed Skyfall to reach 8th place on the highest-grossing films of all-time list Ernest & Celestine grosses are typically released mid-week Amid Amidi is Cartoon Brew's Editor in Chief if no one had ever made "The Lego Movie" or "Toy Story" or "Up" or .. There's nothing particularly wrong with the film in which Blu (voice of Jesse Eisenberg) is now married to Jewel (Anne Hathaway) with the rain forests of the Amazon brought to multicolor 3D life by director Carlos Saldanha There's just nothing magical about the story nothing that lifts it above its status as an agreeable song-and-dance movie for seemingly no real reason other than to throw a few more set pieces at the wall to see what sticks and they travel from their home in Rio de Janeiro to the Amazon in search of other rare blue macaws who Blu's former owner Linda (Leslie Mann) and her husband they do indeed find a tribe of blue macaws who is elated to see his long-lost daughter but less enamored of Blu Blu doesn't really do anything to dissuade him of the notion Blu's enemy Nigel (Jemaine Clement) is also along for the ride He's accompanied by the poisonous frog Gabi (Kristin Chenowith) who loves him in vain; the poison from her skin will kill him if they touch who is threatening nature by chopping down all the trees Jewel's childhood friend who does just about everything better than Blu who is planted firmly in the fish-out-of-water camp as he tries to impress everyone and fails miserably That doesn't mean there isn't any fun — there is Those song-and-dance numbers alluded to earlier Eisenberg excels at the kind of put-upon ne'er-do-well sort he plays here But it's a competitive world among animated features these days It's not for nothing that people are still finding new and inventive ways to sing "Let It Go" from "Frozen." "Rio 2" is a pretty good time in the theater but there's not much here for you to take home once it's done by December 12, 2013Source: Apple we have a second full trailer for Blue Sky Studios' animated sequel Rio 2 as Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) meets another blue macaw from Jewel's (Anne Hathaway) past in the form of Roberto (voiced by singer Bruno Mars) And then we get all the stars voices thrown at us including the return of Tracy Morgan and Jamie Foxx along with the addition of Kristen Chenoweth as a little frog and Andy Garcia as Jewel's father Here's the new trailer for Carlos Saldanha's Rio 2, originally from Apple: Find more posts in: Animation, To Watch, Trailer New comments are no longer allowed on this post Add our RSS to your Feedly +click here+ Latest posts now available on Bluesky: Get the latest posts sent on Telegram Want emails instead?Subscribe to our dailynewsletter updates: Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article Print Wonderfully animated and well-voiced the musical numbers reach saturation levels but the Latin-influenced jamming and singing are absolutely fabulous “Rio 2’s” music might even save the 3-D animated action-adventure about endangered South American blue macaws from the terrible 2s that affect so many sequels The eclectic animal and human cast and respective star voices that “Rio” introduced in 2011 have all reconvened to continue the party And the central troika responsible for “Rio’s” progressive percussive sound — composer John Powell executive music producer Sergio Mendes and Brazilian singer-songwriter Carlinhos Brown — are back and even better PHOTOS: Box office top 10 of 2013 The movie starts with a massive new year’s celebration that looks and sounds a lot like Carnival The great-looking character style of the first has been further refined filling this imaginary world with appealing faces and intricate plumage color bursting and completely in sync with the eye-popping frivolity going on Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (Anne Hathaway) have become quite domesticated while raising their expanding brood The chicks — studious Bia (Amandla Stenberg) adventurous Tiago (Pierce Gagnon) and teenage Carla (Rachel Crow) — are in various stages of becoming their own bird eco-activists Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro) and Linda (Leslie Mann) are off in the Amazon trying to stop unlawful logging in the rain forest When Tulio spots a random blue macaw feather he becomes convinced there are more birds to be found Word of the discovery hits the 24-hour news cycle and Jewel decides a search for a flock is as good a reason as any to give her citified kids a chance to connect with their inner wild thing sporting a fanny pack using a GPS for navigation This is merely director Carlos Saldanha’s sometimes sluggish windup Rafael (George Lopez) and Luiz (Tracy Morgan) — may be heading to the Amazon but Yoni Brenner’s script is heading in a dozen different directions PHOTOS: Behind the scenes of movies and TV where the pompous Nigel (Jemaine Clement) is quoting Shakespeare decrying the carnival sideshow he’s chained to and deflecting the unwanted attention of his terribly annoying Kristin Chenoweth is the irresistible voice of the poisonous frog and stands as one of the film’s best new additions This trio is responsible for some of “Rio 2’s” cleverest hijinks as Gabi and a tap-dancing anteater named Charlie who uses his tongue not for talking but for several super sight gags set Nigel free and follow him to the jungle so he can settle a grudge with Blu Then it’s off to tour the director’s favorite regional attractions At least this detour across Brazil is made visually interesting with a temporary shift to a paper cutout animation style so that the screen occasionally looks like a pop-up book brought to life Things improve significantly when all the parties finally arrive in the Amazon truly an animation paradise of possibilities from the dense undergrowth to the exotic creatures with Eisenberg improving as the temperature rises No one turns it up higher than Eduardo (Andy Garcia) the father-in-law the nerdy bird’s just met The crusty old leader of the Amazon River’s hidden macaw tribe isn’t exactly impressed with his son-in-law RELATED: More movie reviews by The Times let’s at least lobby to have Roberto and Gabi That the film doesn’t need Blu so much is underscored when Nico Pedro and pals set up Carnival auditions in the heart of the jungle All the musical and animation stops are pulled out for a series of show-stopping numbers Nigel shows up with his scraggly remaining feathers seriously ruffled “Rio 2” does too much flailing and floundering to soar betsy.sharkey@latimes.com Hollywood Inc. Entertainment & Arts Movies Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map Brazilian director Carlos Saldanha has worked in animated films with Blue Sky Studios for many years He has an impressive resume as he was the director of “IceAge: The Meltdown” (2006) and “Ice Age: Dawn Of Dinosaurs” (2009) and co-director of “Ice Age” (2002) and “Robots” (2005) no project has been closer to his heart than the film about two blue macaws that fall in love After the great success of the first film Saldanha -- along with Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox Animation -- is taking us back to Brazil for the sequel “Rio 2,” which is set to hit theaters Friday Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (Anne Hathaway) return to the screen in this beautifully 3D computer-animated musical adventure-comedy Blu and Jewel embark on a journey out of Rio de Janeiro to the Amazon rainforest in search of a hidden tribe of blue macaws This is an important journey for the now family of five -- the couple have three kids -- because they’ve always believed they were the only blue macaws left in the world The family joyfully discovers Jewel’s old tribe and long-lost father as well as Jewel’s childhood friend Eduardo (Bruno Mars) while illegal loggers kidnap scientists Linda (Leslie Mann) and Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro) and threaten to destroy the home of the blu macaws Saldanha made sure Brazilian culture and music played a big role in this sequel Some Portuguese words can occasionally be heard in the film and there is fierce soccer game reminiscent of the impending FIFA 2014 World Cup between two species of birds in the Amazon The director also brought in the sounds of the Barbatuques Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes’ work on the film’s music played a large role in “keeping it world,” as Saldanha put it Latin Times got a chance to speak with Saldanha about the importance of this film to him personally as well as some of the Latino voices he got to work with -- whom he calls his “heroes” -- Andy Garcia and Rita Moreno Latin Times: When did you decide to make a sequel of “Rio” and why was it important to you to do Carlos Saldanha: I felt that I had more stories to tell I got those two birds together and it was the story of the birds falling in love So it felt natural that there was a continuation to the story that I began tell in the first one LT: What are some reoccurring themes in “Rio 2” from the first film CS: The movie is completely different and new you start the movie in Rio because that’s where we left off from the first movie they go into this great adventure to the Amazon We meet a lot of new characters and all the musical numbers are different It was very exciting to explore the different rhythms of Brazil because the first movie was pretty much Rio-centric It was all about the rhythms of Rio with samba I take the journey across Brazil to the Amazon we had a lot of freedom for new rhythms and new set pieces that we weren’t able to do in the first one It’s about family and the family dynamic with the kids and the family that they find in the Amazon LT: Can you tell me a bit about the casting process How do you decide someone’s voice is a good fit for one of your characters CS: I want the voices to carry the personality or the energy of the characters that I’m creating In the case of “Rio 2,” I had the great honor of working with some of my heroes with some of the people who I’ve always looked up to like Andy Garcia Not only just because they are Latinos but mostly because of their body of work the amazing work they’ve done so far and how important they’ve become for the movie community in general it was such a great honor and also because they had the personality that I was looking for we look at the quality of their voices and how they contrast with the other characters and also the ability to act and add the right energy to the characters LT: I’ve heard you mention before you wanted the music in this film to be a character of its own How did you go about bringing that to life about our process and what we needed to do to make it really happen We learned that we have to start to integrate the music as much as we can with the story when we started “Rio 2,” the first day I was already working with music I was much more careful to try to fit the songs even better to the story We had to have enough time to develop all the different styles of music we wanted to put into the movie LT: Did you plan to have “Rio 2” come out near the World Cup As soon as we got the OK to make “Rio 2,” it naturally fell to this date that we wanted to release It happens to be the year of the World Cup the movie would come out because the way the timeline works for us way before any events were approved to be made in Brazil So it was an approach completely detached from Brazil or any events happening in Brazil It was much more of a personal journey that I wanted to put on the screen One thing that I wanted to make sure didn’t happen was to have it come out during the World Cup because then no one would come see it Everyone would be glued to their TVs for the soccer games I wanted to make sure that if it did come out this year LT: How do you feel about having the opportunity to depict Brazilian culture to a world audience CS: I’m very happy and very proud that I was able to do that I’ve been working with animated movies for the longest time and I’ve seen movies being made about different cultures I’m so close to the Brazilian culture that I always questioned myself: Why not develop a project that talks a little bit about that culture And that’s when “Rio” came to life It’s such a great honor to be able to do that What I hope is that Brazilians see a little bit of themselves in the movie and they are proud of what I do the world that doesn’t know about Brazil gets to see a little bit about it or at least have the curiosity to learn a bit about it LT: The animation in this film seemed beautiful and authentic What challenges did you face in animating the Amazon CS: I wanted to take the audience to a different place And I thought it was a great challenge for animation especially to build the jungle and the scale that I wanted to build I knew it would be a big technical challenge for me It also allowed the animators to have more freedom and excitement to work with different characters from the jungle We did a lot in Rio in the first movie and I wanted this one to feel different It was way more than I expected it to be in terms of the scale the vibrancy of the place and excitement of being there It’s such an untamed place and so filled with life that you can’t help but be inspired I shot a lot of reference for the writers to look at in terms of the characters and the way the jungle moves and the way that things are visually LT: Do you have a favorite character in the film I enjoy all the characters that we’ve put in and that’s the reason I’ve put them in the movies because one complements the other “Rio 2,” we did a great job coming up with the character of Gabby which is a really fun character that I fell in love with But they’re all very special in their own way his comedy and his music … that was the first thing I thought for the second movie I wanted to create a bigger story for him and that’s how I created Gabby to create a fun little parallel story for him LT: Was it harder to create the sequel than the original it was the challenge of creating something that was never done before of trying to create a film that talks about specific culture to play for the world there’s all these challenges of the first creation you start off a bit more relaxed because you know the characters you know the world you’re going into but you have the bigger challenge of creating something unique on top of that to lift the success of the first one You want to do something that will at least match the excitement of the first one or try to surpass it There’s a lot of inherit pressures that go in to making a sequel that make the process challenging And challenges are good in that sense that it pushes us to keep creating new things [Laughs] For “Rio,” I was so focused on making the first one that I didn’t even think about the second one The question will be to see how it does and how people accept it Right now I’m so wrapped up in trying to promote the second one and just trying to get this one out the door Maybe in a month or two I’ll have a better answer for that one Director Carlos Saldanha and Blue Sky Studios take the sequel into unknown the 2011 animated feature film Rio was a passion project — one that was a love letter to the city he was born and raised in a stuffy domesticated blue macaw parrot who can’t fly and is forced to loosen up when a scientific trip to Rio de Janeiro goes awry But not as much as the film’s sequel which allowed Saldanha and the team at Blue Sky Studios to revisit the world of Blu Jewel and their new family in an all-new stereoscopic 3D adventure due in theaters April 11 “There was so much more that I wanted to do in the first movie,” says Saldanha a native of Rio de Janeiro who came to the United States in the early 1990s to attend the School of Visual Arts in New York “When you finish you have that feeling of ‘I could have done this,’ and ‘I could have done that.’ And then this one it allows me to explore some of that.” No stranger to sequels having shepherded Blue Sky’s Ice Age franchise since co-directing the first installment Saldanha says the challenge for Rio 2 was to keep the story fresh and explore every aspect to take it to a new place “I think movies are about the journey of the characters and how you tell that story is how you keep it fresh,” he says “That’s what I try to do with my movies is try to make sure that I keep what works for the personalities of the characters from the first one and advance them or just do new things with them and the new characters that come along.” says that approach was very much in line with the studio’s plans for a sequel the question that Carlos had and that we had is: Are there more stories to tell with these characters Are there more personal stories to tell with Blu and Jewel and are there more places to go with these characters?” says Morrison “Carlos came to us with a resounding yes and really had constructed a vision of the story we wanted to tell.” With original leads Jesse Eisenberg returning to play Blu and Oscar-winner Anne Hathaway back as Jewel the sequel introduces several new characters — most notably Jewel’s macho “I wanted a father was very powerful and strong and intimidating and I felt that Andy always had that presence for me,” Saldanha says finding the character was a process of discover for both Saldanha and Mars “It was a hard character to cast because I didn’t quite have the character in mind,” he says “When I saw Bruno on Saturday Night Live I looked at him and I thought he had so much energy he had pathos — he had all those things I wanted to bring to the character Roberto makes a rather dramatic and funny musical entrance in the movie an idea that to get right required a little improvisation from Mars “We had a first session with him and we recorded the script pages and it was fun and we got it but then I kept feeling we’re missing something special,” says Saldanha “When we came back for the next session we talked a little bit about why don’t we try to add music to you as a character a musical introduction that’s over the top and fun brainstormed a little bit and he sang that opening number and it was like his introduction and it was so funny.” The actors returning to their roles benefited from familiarity with the terrain which allowed them to focus less on defining their characters and more on exploring their interactions with the story and each other The story pushes the main characters into different directions who were revealed to have become parents in the final moments of the first Rio find their relationship challenged by being parents meeting Jewel’s family and the various dangers posed by their adventures in the Amazon Saldanha says those family dynamics create conflict between characters that is universally recognized “It’s territory that we are all very aware of,” he says “So it allows me to make the characters feel personable and allows you to create fun comedy at the same time.” Coming only three years after the first Rio — “a fairly short period of time in animation terms,” Saldanha says — there were no huge or obvious innovations in the technology or animation techniques used to bring the sequel to life Most of the innovation came in advancements in lighting made on Blue Sky’s previous feature film and often are largely invisible in the finished product to most viewers for Rio 2 we had to re-rig all the character again,” Saldanha says “We wanted the characters to be faster to animate We wanted animators to have to spend less time having to move a point and spend that time acting for the characters … Even though it was time consuming in the beginning it allowed us to improve the animation.” While the first Rio was set largely in the eponymous city itself heading west from Rio de Janeiro into the Amazon rainforest It was a journey Saldanha himself had to take first so I wanted to have that experience myself I wanted to see what inspires me about the Amazon how does it feel to be in the Amazon,” he says The material was mostly personal reference for Saldanha with the rest of the film’s crew relying on the ample reference work in books photos and movies of what the Amazon looks like and how light plays off its features (That wasn’t the only trip Saldanha took during the making of Rio 2 He also took three weeks vacation to shoot a short live-action segment for the I Love Rio project and hopes to direct a live-action adaptation of the graphic novel Rust in the near future.) The Amazon was the setting for some of the most complicated animation sequences in the film including the reveal of the massive sanctuary for the blue macaws and a type of bird-style soccer match Saldanha says it was easier this time around to animate the birds we walked in knowing what we wanted to do with it So we spent all of our efforts just trying to come up with fun acting for them trying to come up with better stuff that we can do with their bodies or their wings.” though Saldanha says Blue Sky’s pipeline now incorporates 3D into the process so well that problems are caught early on the process is relatively routine Saldanha says he would be happy to turn Rio into a trilogy if the opportunity presents itself work is proceeding on his next animated Blue Sky feature “I do hope this movie is successful and that people will enjoy it and if so we’ll deal with that when the time comes,” he says I’m very proud of what we’ve done so far.” We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below The cookies that are categorised as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site We also use third-party cookies that help us analyse how you use this website and provide the content and advertisements that are relevant to you These cookies will only be stored in your browser with your prior consent You can choose to enable or disable some or all of these cookies but disabling some of them may affect your browsing experience Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors Performance cookies are used to understand and analyse the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customised advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyse the effectiveness of the ad campaigns If parents walk away from “Rio 2” feeling like they’ve seen it all before “Rio 2” should be entertaining enough for the kids but the filmmakers clearly value recycling as much as the rainforest conservation message of the film itself “Muppets Most Wanted” was up front about the “been there After getting together in 2011’s first film “Rio 2” finds Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (Anne Hathaway) well into a life of domestic bird bliss raising three children in Rio de Janeiro and doing their part to preserve their particular macaw species for future generations But when their old ornithologist human friends find signs that there could be more blue macaws out there the whole family winds up on an impromptu trip deep into the Amazon jungle where eventually they find an entire sanctuary brimming with blue macaws led by Jewel’s father “Rio 2” is built around a “meet the parents” scenario as Blu struggles to adjust his domesticated upbringing to the more rugged background of his wife and her family But there are bigger problems to deal with A shady entrepreneur wants to add the sanctuary to his illegal logging operation “Rio 2” breaks out into original song from time to time (thanks to tunes from John Powell and Sergio Mendes so this film could at least provide an alternative for parents tired of hearing the “Frozen” soundtrack over and over again “Rio 2” drafts Kristin Chenoweth into the cast as a multi-colored poison frog named Gabi whose comic obsession with Nigel leads to some memorable musical moments The plight of a lovesick frog unable to touch the object of her affection is amusing but even that seems to echo Elsa’s predicament in “Frozen.” Still even if they feel like a re-hash to adults “Rio 2” may push its environmentalist message hard but its thoughts on how to manage a successful marriage might have more sticking power “Rio 2” also boasts some excellent animation and a good sense of humor Though compared to most of today’s animated fare it lacks a lot of the “wink-wink” jokes aimed at the adults in the audiences They’ll also be happy to see characters voiced by Jaime Foxx and Tracy Morgan back from the first film and while it may not be essential to the experience it looks good enough that you won’t feel like paying the premium was a waste of money The sum total kind of feels like a Vegas buffet: You get the feeling you’ve seen it all before but having everything together in one spot is entertaining enough to get the job done “Rio 2” may not bring a lot of originality to the screen but it’s a simple entertaining alternative to the movies the kids have already seen and that might be just enough to turn a profit “Rio 2” is rated G and should be a pretty harmless experience for any audience but parents might note a handful of scary moments (some played for laughs) that may come as a surprise for little ones Joshua Terry is a freelance writer and photojournalist who appears weekly on "The KJZZ Movie Show" and also teaches English composition for Salt Lake Community College. You can see more of his work at woundedmosquito.com .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Special to The Oregonianrio2.JPG There are no princesses in "Rio 2." No superheroes The follow-up to 2011's animated "Rio" is a highly entertaining old-fashioned family film -- albeit lushly rendered in 3-D That makes it a bit of an anomaly these days It's not a franchise (yet) or based on a toy or part of Disney's royal kingdom -- it's a straightforward good vs bad moral story with a bunch of talking birds sweet-natured Minnesota-raised blue Spix's macaw Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and his spirited and sexy partner Jewel (Anne Hathaway) Now based in a sanctuary outside of Rio de Janeiro the rare birds are parents of three young Spix's macaws They are thought to be the only Spix's macaws in the world so are strictly protected and live under the care of the now-married sanctuary founders though Jewel is a bit dismayed by all of the human ways that pancake-eating Blu is teaching their young brood The movie begins with a gorgeous New Year's Eve celebration the camera soaring like a bird over the water beaches and Cristo Redentor statue high on Corcovado mountain It's a fantastic example of how great 3-D can be in animation Every scene with the birds is enriched by this effect as they seem to soar over the audience and through glistening flowers and the lush jungle there is trouble in paradise -- or in this case the good news: it seems as if Blu and crew may not be the only Spix's macaws surviving as Tulio and Linda uncover on a rainforest expedition Jewel convinces her nebbishy city husband and chicks that a trip to the jungle to look for the other macaws is in order and they set out accompanied by cardinal Pedro (will.i.am) toucan Rafael (George Lopez) and canary Nico (Jamie Foxx) from "Rio" – and with Blu's GPS in his fanny pack (Oh Many joyful song and dance/flight numbers ensue set to a smooth soundtrack featuring Bruno Mars (who plays Jewel's ex-beau) The macaws are in an endangered grove where illegal loggers are about to destroy their habitat and for Linda and Tulio who try to foil their plan But Blu and Jewel and the other macaws won't turn their tail-feathers and flee even if city bird Blu is mocked by the jungle birds the world's most evil cockatoo Nigel (Jermaine Clement) shows up The conclusion of "Rio 2" is as inspiring as the rest of this soaring film which joyfully entertains while teaching valuable lessons about family Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices the Spix is in severe danger of extinction due to “destruction of the specific gallery woodland habitat on which the species apparently depended” and “the illegal live bird trade.” that rapacious trade throughout Brazil’s rain forest led to the capturing of Blu (Eisenberg) and found by the bird-loving bookkeeper Linda (Leslie Mann) Blu returned to Rio to mate with another survivor Jewel and and their three offspring — studious Bia (Amandla Stenberg) mischievous Tiago (Pierce Gagnon) and teen-misfit Carla (Rachel Crow) — fly back to the rain forest for a very special episode of Meet the Flockers (READ: Corliss’s review of Rio) until human civilization sends in its giant beasts — dozens of earthmovers — to cut down the parrots’ imperiled habitat Fox News Channel may take this as eco-ganda another attempt from left-wing Hollywood to poison the minds of little ones as The Lorax and The LEGO Movie supposedly did But director Carlos Saldanha and the new film’s writers (Carlos Kotkin Yoni Brenner and the late Don Rhymer) didn’t invent the threat to the Spix’s macaw As Birdlife.org reports: “The last known individual in the wild disappeared at the end of 2000 (READ: The ‘Socialist toys’ in The LEGO Movie) Rio 2 faces the problem of any animated sequel: introducing new characters — here Jewel’s stern father Eduardo (Andy Garcia) his sister Mimi (Rita Moreno) and the preeningly macho Roberto (Bruno Mars) to stoke Blu’s envy — while finding work for all the creatures in the first episode who protected Jewel while she was in captivity as do Blu’s rambunctious bird pals Rafael (George Lopez) The cockatoo villain Nigel (Jemaine Clement) seemingly kaput at the end of the first Rio is improbably revived and gets a cross-species love interest in a poisonous frog named Gabi (Kristen Chenoweth) Only the pit bull Luiz (Tracy Morgan) is left behind somehow having navigated the 2,000-mile inland trek A little less agreeable and way more aggressive than its better begetter Rio 2 has the overstuffed agenda of a movie that’s been focus-grouped to death Realizing that an animated feature’s prime customers are moms who take their kids the filmmakers paint a feisty sensitivity on the adult females who endure more humiliation than a freshman at a fraternity hazing (The two males are subject to about a dozen castration gags.) (SEE: How Disney and Pixar toyed with motherhood) More focus-grouping: Anticipating Brazil’s hosting of this summer’s World Cup the movie conjures an all-bird soccer match which the city-bred Blu naturally screws up he is essentially a troubled kid in a hostile environment — like the protagonist of virtually every animated feature dating back to Dumbo and Bambi and up to Toy Story 3 and Frozen who can’t cope without his fanny pack and smartphone GPS of the kind the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced through had a disposable script and ineffable production numbers The movie’s opening celebrates New Year’s Eve with the vivid “Sapo Cal,” colors and characters exploding everywhere to the samba percussion of composers Sergio Mendes Hathaway exercises her expert chops on the ballad “Don’t Go Away”; Broadway legend Moreno and previous non-singer Garcia duet on “Beautiful Creatures.” In fact most of the good comedy in Rio 2 is connected with the music as in a snatch of spectacular funny-intentional bad singing (by Bebel Gilberto or when some cute birdies start to sing “Memory” (from Cats — already a sly joke) (SEE: Our choice of the all-TIME 25 Best Animated Features) Clement, nearly stealing the limelight with his Anglo-ham foppery, gets an unnecessary but delightful solo — Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” — and supports Chenoweth’s knockout diva turn, “Poisonous Love” (by Brown Escalating from Broadway patter song to Tristan und Isolde intensity it challenges Josh Gad’s “In Summer,” from Frozen as the cleverest and most passionately rendered original number in recent movie history and unexpected moments of inspiration like the montage of the Blu family’s flight to the rain forest in which tourist sites are fleshed out from pop-up book items to the fulfill the movie’s 3-D potential Even when it’s coarse and calculating this is an eager entertainment machine that will keep the kids satisfied Just don’t tell them that the Rio movies are musical comedies about an avian genocide Contact us at letters@time.com Twentieth Century Fox’s new animated feature RIO 2 took over Miami Florida on Friday evening (March 21) for a series of gala events marking the film’s World Premiere The celebrations included a screening; a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Attempt of the Largest Samba Party; the groundbreaking ceremony of the City’s Official Walk of Fame, in which the film and two of its stars, Jamie Foxx and Andy Garcia, were the inaugural inductees; and a special concert that featured performances by acclaimed artists Janelle Monáe, Sergio Mendes all of whom contribute to the film’s soundtrack Attendees at the World Premiere screening of RIO 2 walked the special “Blu” Carpet (named for one of the film’s characters) and were enveloped by action music and fun as director Carlos Saldanha reunited his beloved characters in RIO 2 after they’re hurtled from Rio to the wilds of the Amazon he goes beak-to-beak with the vengeful and villainous Nigel and meets the most fearsome adversary of all…his father-in-law Favorite “Rio” characters are joined by Oscar nominee Andy Garcia Emmy and Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth and Oscar/Emmy/Tony/Grammy winner Rita Moreno Rio 2 Samba Event Largest Party Attempt from We Are Movie Geeks on Vimeo For the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® Attempt of the Largest Samba Party Fox hosted over 256 dancers – each of whom sported traditional Brazilian garb – to dance a choreographed Samba They did indeed succeed in breaking the largest samba dance record Just as the Samba is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival RIO and now RIO 2 celebrated that country’s music and grandeur immortalizes the entertainment industry’s biggest names many of whom are hometown celebrities in entertainment The inaugural star-studded public ceremony took place with the premiere induction of RIO 2 as well as the induction of two of its stars – Academy Award and Grammy Award-Winner The festivities continued with a gala RIO 2 concert event featuring performances by recording artists Janelle Monáe and Ester Dean and fellow Brazilian phenomenon Carlinhos Brown Atlantic Records has announced the release of “RIO 2: MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE,” the musical companion to Blue Sky Studio/20th Century Fox’s upcoming animated musical comedy The soundtrack album arrives in stores and at all DSPs on March 25th “RIO 2: MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE” is available for pre-order now via http://smarturl.it/rio2soundtrack All pre-orders will receive an instant download of the album’s colorful first single “What Is Love,” by Wondaland Arts Society/Bad Boy recording artist Janelle Monáe  “What Is Love” is on sale now as an individual download on the iTunes Store and other digital retailers Monáe will herald the release of “RIO 2: MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE” with a special performance of “What Is Love” on an upcoming episode of AMERICAN IDOL XIII March 27 (9:00-9:30 PM ET live/tape-delayed PT) on FOX In addition to “What Is Love,” “RIO 2: MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE” also features the song “Welcome Back,” performed by GRAMMY®-winning Atlantic recording artist Bruno Mars who makes his big screen debut in Rio 2 as “Roberto.” The album also gathers brand-new tracks from Mars’ longtime musical collaborator and labelmate Philip Lawrence; 15-member Sao Paulo percussion group Barbatuques; renowned Brazilian musician Carlinhos Brown (who received a 2012 Academy Award nomination for his work on the original Rio); and Brazilian legend Milton Nascimento In honor of the much beloved “Take You To Rio” from Rio the soundtrack features “Rio Rio,” a new version of the track by Ester Dean “RIO 2: MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE” also presents songs from the film performed by cast members Anne Hathaway “RIO 2: MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE” was specially curated by Academy Award nominated and GRAMMY-winner Sergio Mendes and Academy Award and GRAMMY nominated composer John Powell – who also teamed up on the first RIO soundtrack GRAMMY®-winning soundtrack producer Kevin Weaver (Boardwalk Empire Girls) served as Executive Soundtrack Producer for Atlantic Records RIO 2 flies into theatres everywhere April 11th http://instagram.com/RioMovies TM and © 2014 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation Hollywood so rarely has an environmentally-themed blockbuster movie that each one deserves to be singled out for praise. If you don’t have children, it’s unlikely you would see Rio 2 a “3D computer-animated musical adventure-comedy film” that came out in mid-April the main (?) plot of this too-busy movie is that an outsider raised in the human world tries to fit in with the (blue) indigenous inhabitants of a tropical forest paradise — even as an evil human corporation threatens to destroy their home with steam shovels and deforestation after many awkward attempts to become one of them the outsider is the one who leads the indigenous creatures to fight against the evil humans ultimately triumphing against their wanton eco-destructiveness in an epic battle and if you are going to copy you might as well copy from the number one grossing movie of all time the outsider raised in the human world is Blu a domesticated blue Spix’s macaw (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) that two naturalists paired up with what they think is the last remaining female Spix’s macaw of course) who wants to return to the wilderness find Jewel’s dad and a long-lost flock of macaws that the naturalists are also trying to find since proof of their existence would mean the government will prevent the rain forest from being cut down by those evil industrialists Mayhem ensues (along with a lot of singing by the likes of Bruno Mars and Kristin Chenoweth and various Brazilian singers) Brazilian Director Carlos Saldanha told HuffPost what he was aiming for in the movie: and the laughs that are in “Rio 2” the movie also tackles the issue of illegal logging and deforestation a moment to reflect and think a bit about the future Nature is one of the most important things to us [and] the planet’s current state isn’t very good I think for the sake of the children’s future — my children’s futures my children’s children — we have to start to change I’ve always had that awareness and we have to pass it on to every generation The movie takes on the issue in a simple way By | 07/17/2013 1:55 pm | 8 Comments directed by Carlos Saldanha and produced by Blue Sky Studios Here is the official synopsis released this morning with this teaser: The entire cast of the animated smash Rio returns in Rio 2 and they are joined by a new flock of top actors and musical talents Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and their three kids leaving their domesticated life in that magical city for a journey to the Amazon They encounter a menagerie of characters who are born to be wild Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free feed Bebel Gilberto is one of many new artists re-interpreting the songs of Tropicalia on Red Hot Rio 2 English / Spanish Brazil's music scene exploded with tropicalia — a mix of blues folk and psychedelic rock with a distinct local flavor often with commentary on the tumultuous political situation brewing in Brazil at the time And Kurt Cobain once publicly asked that Os Mutantes regroup We were so taken with the record we invited Red Hot producer Beco Dranoff to join us and give our listeners a crash course in tropicalia 101 and play new songs from the compilation put on your shades and get ready for tropicalia Starting June 20th, we'll also be carrying an exclusive First Listen of the entire Red Hot + Rio 2 album ----------------------------------------------------------------------- English / Spanish En la década de 1960 floreció en Brasil un movimiento conocido como Tropicalia - una mezcla de blues, jazz, música folclórica, y rock psicodélico, con un verdadero sabor brasilero No se trataba únicamente de un estilo musical; en su época tropicalia fue mucho mas que eso: también era literatura los tropicalistas producían criticas políticas hacia la situación turbulenta que se desarrollaba en Brasil durante esta época La explosión de tropicalia creó un espacio en donde muchos iconos de la música brasileña - Caetano Veloso y la banda Os Mutantes - pudieron empezar como artistas También el genero inspiró a generaciones de músicos estadounidenses David Byrne proclamó su amor por los tropicalistas Beck compuso una oda al movimiento musical en su disco Kurt Cobain pidió públicamente que se volviera a juntar el grupo Os Mutantes Latino somos grandes fanáticos de la música tropicalia Hace poco tuvimos la suerte de recibir una copia avanzada de un homenaje al movimiento tropicalista un compilado creado por la Red Hot Organization un grupo benéfico que se enfoca en la lucha contra el VIH Red Hot + Rio 2 junta artistas como Veloso Gil y Rita Lee de Os Mutantes con músicos brasileños más jóvenes como Emicida y Seu Jorge y los rockers estadounidenses Beirut y Of Montreal Interpretan clásicos del movimiento tropicalista El disco nos gustó tanto que invitamos a su productor Beco Dranoff a que venga a Alt Latino y nos de una clase sobre la música tropicalia ¡Así que pónganse los lentes de sol y prepárense para lo mejor de la música tropicalia Become an NPR sponsor More emphasis has been placed on the music of this film which is supervised by composer John Powell and benefits from numbers by Bruno Mars (who also voices the bird Roberto in the film) They're attached to gadgets like iPods and eat pancakes for breakfast He can't help but roll his eyes over Blu's use of a Swiss army kit rather than his own sharp beak Writers Carlos Saldanha (who also diredcted) and Don Rhymer drown in subplots: Blu battles with Jewel over staying in the wild versus returning to the city; Linda and Tulio clash with bad guys threatening to cut down the rainforest (the film's eco push); and Blu's old rival pops up with a beautiful yet poisonous neon pink and purple frog (Kristin Chenoweth) plotting revenge By 2014-03-27T10:33:00+00:00 As a delightfully bright and breezy bit of 3D animated entertainment Rio 2 hits the sweet spot and will no doubt be a box office hit with its blend of good-natured jungle adventure The only frustrating thing is that it feels very much like a by-the-numbers sequel ebullience and left-field humour that made 2011’s Rio such a surprise hit There are plenty of musical intermissions – Anne Hathaway gets to sing again after her Oscar-winning stint in Les Miserables plus veteran performer Rita Moreno (playing Jewel’s aunt) adds some class to the musical proceedings – as the story tackles human plans to cut down the forest where the birds have made their home That isn’t to say it isn’t enjoyable and entertaining Simply that the original – which managed that rare trick of bringing vibrant colour to the 3D experience – was such a fun-packed delight that the sequel finds it hard to replicate the magic as it ticks off familiar plot devices and heads off to an Avatar-style save-the-forest climax The original film took some $486 million worldwide (the majority coming from international) and while Rio 2 should come close to that figure – especially given its headline-friendly voice cast and savvy marketing campaign - much will depend on how other family films fare over the busy Easter period What made the original such fun was the wonderful way it painted Rio de Janeiro dwelling on the humankind partying on Copacabana beach and the animals (mainly the birds) having their own bash on the iconic Christ the Redeemer statute which overlooks Rio It is an appealing and entertaining start that reintroduces the main characters Rare blue Spix macaws Blu (voiced charmingly by Jesse Eisenberg) excellent as ever) and their three children (Rachel Crow Pierce Gagnon and Amandla Stenberg) are happy in their carefree Rio lifestyle though house-bird Blu still annoys Jewel with his human-ways favouring making pancakes for breakfast for the kids rather than feeding them Brazil nuts and generally preferring city life to the great outdoors discover evidence that the blue macaws may be not be quite so endangered a species as suspected Jewel manages to convince Blu that the family should head off on a 2,000-mile journey into the Amazon rainforest where the macaws were spotted Blu (who wears a ‘fanny pack’ containing a Swiss army knife among other items) reluctantly leads the family into the wild – and possible dangers from the likes of boa constrictors tarantulas and piranhas – while also heading long on the journey are their pals toucan Rafael (George Lopez) and the rap duo of cardinal Pedro (will.i.am) and canary Nico (Jamie Foxx) They eventually meet up with Jewel’s presumed-dead family who is less than thrilled by her choice of husband the charming and crooning Roberto (Bruno Mars) Further danger comes in the form of Blu and Jewel’s old enemy the nasty and deranged cockatoo Nigel (Jemaine Clement whose character was a highlight of the original film) who is bent on revenge and helped in his mission by Gabi (Kristin Chenoweth) a pink dart frog who is desperately in love with Nigel but whose poisonous skin makes contact with him out of the question While the adventure and humour – and message about saving the plant etc – is all very familiar and certainly well presented (though there are also a couple of scary moments for youngsters involving snakes and piranhas) it is simply that the original film’s Rio de Janeiro locations offered up so much more unique entertainment that this largely jungle-bound romp which often plays more like a musical than a family adventure Production companies: 20th Century Fox Animation Oscar winner proposing federal tax incentives Monday’s statement to reporters follows Truth Social Screen International is the essential resource for the international film industry access to the Screen International archive and supplements including Stars of Tomorrow and World of Locations Site powered by Webvision Cloud