Silver Screen Review:Rio

In this edition of the silver screen reviews, I look at the new animated feature “Rio”. “Rio” comes to us from the mind of Carlos Saldanha, the director who brought us the “Ice Age” Trilogy. He returns to the big screen with a film he has been waiting to bring to life. But is “Rio” the next animated hit or does it crash and burn? Get ready to take trip through this review of “Rio”

Story:  The story of “Rio” is about Blu, a domesticated macaw, going to Rio and finds himself stuck to Jewel, a female macaw, and wind up in the adventure of a life time. The plot has no big surprises to it as you figure out how where the story is going.  Though “Rio’s” plot may be familiar; it is enjoyable and it certainly has its moments.  What did fascinate me was how paced the story was. It is surprising to discover that this plot runs about an hour and a half.

Character/Acting:  Like the story, there little to no surprises with the characters. Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway’s characters seem to follow there more usual character traits. Yet one thing that did impress me was the development of Blu and Linda, played by Leslie Mann. Both characters go out on an adventure and discover things about the world as well as themselves. The movie also features an enjoyable supporting cast  with the likes of Jemaine Clement, Jaime Foxx as well as George Lopez, and this is to name a few. The only  other issue I have  in this section is the characteristics of the animal cast seemed a little too human for my taste.

Directing:  Carlos Saldanha has finally brought his idea to life. Unfortunately, there were not many surprises when it came to the directions.  Besides the details of the city itself, I felt  there were no surprises in directing; however that is not to say he did a bad job. He was able to deliver with “Rio”, even though everything about this film fit his forte.

Everything Else:  There were things that I liked about the animation, and there were things I did not care for. I felt at times that animation was to cartoonish for my taste. The design for the characters seemed way too generic. I felt that some of the characters had the same design and I felt it took away from the animation. I am not going to count out the animation just yet because it did have some positive factors.  At some points, the animation was colorful and seemed to fit what the movie was expressing. So though it does not fit my preference, it did get the job done.

Overall:  Though there are no impressive surprises, “Rio” is an entertaining movie. Is it the best animated movie of the year? Not really. But if you are looking for just a fun movie, look no further than “Rio”. “Rio” gets 3 ½ hats out of 5.