Rio

Transcript for Roger's Office: Rio

IGNATIY VISHNEVESKY:
Yeah, well, also opening this weekend is “Rio.”  Which is hopefully much less suffocating and much more sunny.  Roger’s back in his office with the review.

ROGER EBERT:
The new 3D animated comedy "Rio" is upbeat and colorful and a lot of fun. I’m Bill Kurtis for Roger Ebert.  It tells the saga of a rare blue Macaw named Blu, who is captured in Brazil and shipped off for pet stores in America. He's so young he hasn't even learned to fly yet.

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ROGER:
A parrot scientist brings Blue back from America because he's the last surviving blue macaw in the world--and unless he mates with a girl parrot named Jewel, his species will die. Jewel isn't very impressed.

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ROGER:
Jesse Eisennberg is the voice of Blue, Anna Hathaway is Jewel, and that's George Lopez as Rafael, sort of a matchmaker.

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ROGER:
The would-be lovebirds are captured by smugglers and chained together, and Rafael helps them escape.

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ROGER:
"Rio has a lot of music by everyone from Sergio Mendez to will.i.am. The animation is by the same team that makes the "Ice Age" movies, and it's a riot of colors. Birds in my opinion don't make the most charismatic of animated characters, but so much is happening that doesn't matter. This is a good choice for younger viewers, although maybe a little routine for their parents.