RIO
4 out of 5 stars

“stop shaking him! he’s not a maraca!” – rafael re: his toucan babies shaking a toucan bird egg

if you like tropical birds, brazil, samba, and all around cuteness, this movie is for you! i mean, with songs like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Sl7cLu31rE you can’t help but smile throughout this one... ;)

rio is all about a bird’s tale...tyler “blu” gunderson’s tale. :P blu is the last of his species, and while his life has always been about being linda’s pet bird and companion in moose creek (not rio), minnesota, he feels right at home when linda (voiced by leslie mann) and blu (voiced by jesse eisenberg) travel to exotic rio de janeiro! as it turns out, blu is the last of his species, and dr. tuvio (voiced by rodrigo santoro) wants blu to mate with another blue macaw named jewel. (voiced by anne hathaway) blu and jewel don’t exactly get along...and they’re birdnapped by poachers, assisted by their own evil bird named nigel. blu and jewel escape, but they end up lost in the middle of the brazillian jungle. they’re soon attacked by lil’ toucan babies, but it turns out they’re just the offspring of a very friendly toucan named rafael. (voiced by george lopez) rafael informs them of the awesome parades of carnival, and even offers to help them find luis (tracy morgan), who can help get rid of their chain. (the poachers put a chain on their claws so they wouldn’t fly away...HAH!) backed by will.i.am and jamie foxx in bird form...ain’t nothin’ stoppin’ these birds from being free. ;)

lots of cute moments with lots of color and great animation! even a memorable soundtrack! it doesn’t have the pixar finesse, but it’s still a great movie for both kids and adults. lots of color, lots of brazillian flavor, and of course, lots of rhythm. i mean, look at this scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb0P038r6ww&feature=related if that doesn’t get your tail feather shakin’? papi, we’ve got a problem... :P