Rio, often promoted as Rio: The Movie, is a 2011 American 3D computer-animated musical comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios and directed by Carlos Saldanha. The title refers to the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro,[5] in which the film is set. The film features the voices of Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez, Jemaine Clement and Jake T. Austin.[6] The film tells the story of Blu (Eisenberg), a blue macaw who is taken to Rio de Janeiro to mate with a female. He eventually falls in love with Jewel (Hathaway), a free spirited macaw, and together they have to escape from being smuggled by Nigel (Clement), a cockatoo.
Saldanha developed his first story concept of Rio in 1995, in which a penguin is washed up in Rio. However, Saldanha learned of the production of the films Happy Feet and Surf's Up, and changed the concept to involve macaws and their environments in Rio. He proposed his idea to Chris Wedge in 2006, and the project was set up at Blue Sky. The main voice actors were approached in 2009. During production, the crew visited Rio de Janeiro and also consulted with an expert on macaws at the Bronx Zoo to study their movements.
20th Century Fox released the film on March 22, 2011 in Brazil and April 15, 2011 in the United States. The film received generally positive reviews from film critics. Observers praised the visuals, voice acting and music. The film was also a box office success, grossing over $464 million worldwide.
PLOT
The story takes place in Rio de Janeiro; wildlife trade is common there, and several types of exotic birds get smuggled to different countries. One such bird is Blu, a Spix's Macaw who is unable to fly and his owner is Linda. The film begins with Blu being smuggled from Rio de Janeiro to the city of Moose Lake, Minnesota. Shortly thereafter, Linda finds him as soon as he arrives in Moose Lake in the snow. Fifteen years later, Blu and Linda have become friends and live together in her bookstore. Blu is still unable to fly, but has adopted Linda's lifestyle. However, Blu is ridiculed by local animals.
One day, a Brazilian ornithologist named Túlio Monterio informs Linda that Blu is the last male of his species. Túlio also says that he has discovered a female Spix's Macaw in Rio named Jewel, and offers her to take Blu to mate with her to preserve the species. Túlio, Linda, and Blu are flown to Rio, where Blu meets a Red-crested Cardinal named Pedro and his Yellow Canary friend Nico. Blu is taken to Túlio's aviary, and falls in love with Jewel, who desperately longs to escape into the wilderness. Blu and Jewel are captured by a young boy named Fernando and a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo named Nigel, who works for a group of smugglers led by Marcel. Nigel tells the two that he was once a popular performer on a television program, but he was soon replaced by a parakeet. Embittered by this experience, Nigel specializes in capturing exotic birds such as Jewel. Blu and Jewel flee from Nigel and the smugglers, ending up in a jungle.
The next morning, the macaws meet a Toco toucan named Rafael, who offers to take them to his bulldog friend Luiz to remove a chain connected to their legs. He also tries to teach Blu how to fly and fall in love, before the threesome meet Pedro and Nico. Nigel hires a horde of thieving marmosets led by Mauro to capture Blu and Jewel. Pedro and Nico take Blu and Jewel to a bird's samba club, where they perform a duet, but are attacked by the marmosets. Their bird friends, including a Roseate Spoonbill named Kipo, fend them off long enough for the five to escape. Fernando takes Linda and Túlio to the smugglers hideout, and hear Marcel's intent to use the Carnaval festival to kidnap Blu and Jewel.
Meanwhile, Blu and the others meet Luiz, who uses his drool to release the chain holding Blu and Jewel. Blu becomes too depressed to fly and parts ways with Jewel. Jewel is eventually captured by Nigel and taken to Marcel's float. Blu initiates a rescue attempt on Jewel, while Linda and Túlio initiate their rescue attempt on the birds.
At the festival, Linda and Túlio pose as dancers in the festival, but Marcel and Nigel capture Blu, Rafael, Nico and Pedro. The smugglers fly off in his cargo plane before the others can stop them. Blu and Jewel manage to break out of their cages in fight and free all the captive birds in the cargo hold. However, Nigel corners Blu and Jewel. Jewel winds up in a dangerous accident, and Blu lures Nigel into one of the plane's propellers. Marcel and the others are forced to evacuate the plane. As Jewel falls out of the cargo hold, Blu jumps off after her. Realizing that Blu loves her, Jewel kisses him, finally encouraging him to fly. With the smugglers' plot foiled, the duo reunites with Linda and Túlio.
Later, Linda and Túlio adopt Fernando and set up a sanctuary to protect the jungle from smugglers. Blu and Jewel are released into the jungle to reunite with their bird friends. Blu and Jewel are the parents of three chicks. Meanwhile, Nigel survives the plane crash, but is featherless, and is ridiculed by Mauro.
WATCH THE MOVIE
VOCAL CAST- Jesse Eisenberg as Blu, a Spix's Macaw. He is socially awkward, domesticated, and clumsy. Blu was smuggled from Rio de Janeiro to Moose Lake and was adopted by Linda. He lived with her for 15 years. While he can log on to a computer and shred on a skateboard, he can not fly.
- Anne Hathaway as Jewel, a free-spirited Spix's Macaw. She is initially concerned with escaping to the wilderness. Meeting Blu causes her to be displeased, but she eventually falls in love with him.
- George Lopez as Rafael, a Toco Toucan. After learning that Blu can not fly, Rafael attempts an impromptu lesson, telling him that flying is about feeling the rhythm of one's heart.
- Jemaine Clement as Nigel, a sadistic sulphur-crested Cockatoo and former television actor. After Nigel was replaced by a parakeet, however, he develops a hatred of exotic birds and specializes in capturing them for his owner Marcel.
- Bernardo de Paula as Kipo, a Roseate Spoonbill at the bird's samba club. He helps Blu and Jewel escape when Mauro and his henchmen attack them.
- Tracy Morgan as Luiz, a bulldog and a chainsaw expert who has a medical condition of drooling.
- will.i.am as Pedro, a rapping Red-crested Cardinal who befriends Blu and gives him advice on how to attract girls.
- Jamie Foxx as Nico, a close friend of Pedro. He is a Yellow Canary with a green and purple striped bottlecap as a hat that loves to samba.
- Brian Baumgartner as Mauro, a king of thieving marmosets who are hired by Nigel to help capture Blu and Jewel. However, Mauro disapproves of Nigel's abusive behavior.
- Wanda Sykes as Chloe, a Canada Goose from Moose Lake.
- Jane Lynch as Alice, another Canada Goose.
- Chavo Vaynér as a woodpecker.
- Bebel Gilberto as Eva, a Keel-billed Toucan and Rafael's wife.
- Jeff Garcia as a bat kidnapped by the smugglers
Humans
- Leslie Mann as Linda, Blu's human owner who discovers Blu after being taken from Rio de Janeiro and adopted him for 15 years.
- Sofia Scarpa Saldanha voices the younger Linda.
- Jake T. Austin as Fernando, an impoverished and orphaned Brazilian boy. His duties are to assist Marcel into capturing exotic birds and to earn money. He eventually decides to betray Marcel and to help Linda and Túlio find Blu.
- Bernardo de Paula as Sylvio, an obese security guard at Túlio's aviary. He is also a fan of the Carnaval festival and spends as much time as he can dancing the samba.
- Rodrigo Santoro as Túlio Monteiro, an ornithologist from Brazil who suggests that Blu is to be taken to Rio to mate with a female.
- Carlos Ponce as Marcel, the leader of the smugglers and Nigel's owner who gives him difficult tasks to which none of his partners can achieve.
- Jeff Garcia as Tipa, one of Marcel's henchmen.
- Davi Vieira of Forro in the Dark as Armando, one of Marcel's henchmen.
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