Rio and Rio 2: Love of Nature, Birds and Everything in Between

(Rio 2 is slated for April 11, 2014  release in India and USA. It releases in Singapore on April 10, 2014.)

What’s animation without glee, fun and an alternate wonderful world of make believe characters who take you into the world of their own?

Last week adult viewers at Singapore got an opportunity to spend quality time with their kids in the wonderland of Rio when a well known Cineplex decided to bundle Rio 1 and Rio 2 movies back-to-back along with a knowledgeable session on birds of the Rainforest to give kids more imagination and understanding of what they were going to watch.

Rafael (voiced by George Lopez), Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg), and Jewel (voiced by Anne Hathaway) become friends in the animated movie Rio (2011).
Photo © Blue Sky Studios/20th Century Fox

Though the event itself was not very well organized (it lacked music, fun and an engaging anchor), yet an apt opportunity was created to meet and greet real macaws and cockatoos and get acquainted to their habitat.

It was fun to watch kids enter the movie hall with painted faces and colored hairs in Rainforest themes.

The screen came to life with Rio 1 taking the audience through Blu’s (the protagonist blue macaw being referred to as ‘he’) coming of age and his attachment to everything human.

He lives an urban secure life forgetting in process the basic bird things like flying, food hunting and survival (this reminds you of other movies with similar plots like BOLT, Mr. Peabody and Sherman).

He makes an eventful trip to Rio where Blu not only discovers his love for flying and dancing but also the fierce and ferocious Jewel (Anne Hathaway), which is a wonderful ride in itself. In the process, they also end up rescuing thousands of rare birds from the clutches of poachers. Along the way he wins the heart of fierce and ferocious Jewel (the voiceover of Jewel by Anne Hathaway is delightful).

As a genuine sequel to Rio, Rio 2 takes you through the journey of Amazon where Tulio and Linda are working on saving rare birds and fighting against deforestation in Amazon. While Jewel discovers she has a big family living happily in Amazon and plans to stay back in Amazon, Blu is in for a tough rustic bird life away from the comforts of Minnesota. He must prove his worth to his father-in-law and Jewel’s best friend Roberto (Bruno Mars).

Poster of 20th Century Fox’s Rio 2 (2014)
Photo © Blue Sky Studios/20th Century Fox

Rio 2 weaves a magical pattern of separate stories like Danger to Rainforests due to human invasion, insecurity in love of Blu and the Amazon Idol Talent Show that adds great value to the entertainment value of the movie.

High points in the movie:

• Amazon Idol auditions by the animals

• Soccer tournament played between Red and Blue Macaws with some cool football moves and on the edge game finale deciding on who would leave the rainforest portion to the winning team. Quiet a big gamble there.

Highly recommended for parents and kids wanting to bond over a movie

Shakun Rana Narang is Administrator of Moviemaniacs Facebook Group. The opinions shared by the reviewers are their personal opinions and does not reflect the collective opinion of Moviemaniacs Facebook Group or Learning and Creativity emagazine.
Rio 2 Trailer – Migration Vacation (2014)

About the Author

Shakun Narang ( 18 Posts)

Shakun Narang is passionate about people, dancing, music, kids and their safety rights, traveling and city exploring. She is a perpetual dreamer and dream-chaser, a friend for life and companion for all conversations and part time Agony Aunt. A moviebuff and bookworm herself she is actively working on her Facebook communities Moviemaniacs and Bookoholics to be that happy place where people bursting with views and reviews around movies and books can meet and mingle with like minded people.
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