The new animated comedy “Rio” feels like a do-it-yourself blockbuster kit in action.
You’ve got a nerdy, appealing hero, a romance pairing two polar opposites, some wacky sidekicks and a villain who delights in being naughty.
The wizards at Pixar can make miracles from such a grab-bag of parts. The minds behind “Rio” settle for slightly less, a breezy romp for all ages you’ll forget the moment the theater lights snap on.
“Rio” opens with a big musical number establishing the back story of our heroic Blue macaw named … Blu (Jesse Eisenberg). Seems Blu’s idyllic life in Rio got interrupted when animal thieves swiped him as a young, still flightless bird and brought him to – gasp – Minnesota. He ends up the property of Linda (Leslie Mann), the girl who will become his lifelong pal.
Flash forward a few years and Linda meets an awkward ornithologist named Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro) who wants to bring Blu back to Rio to mate with a similarly rare macaw.
But once in Rio, the sheltered Blu is overwhelmed by the lively culture as well as Jewel (Anne Hathaway), his would-be mate. Blu and Jewel bicker over just about everything, with Jewel craving the freedom of a cage-free life. The duo have a bigger threat looming over them than divergent world views. A group of animal poachers wants to nab both of them for a quick profit, and they’re aided by a vicious Cockatoo (voiced to perfection by Jemaine Clement).
“Rio’s” main characters prove appealing and the Brazilian setting is gorgeous, but the scene stealers are birds of another feather – and one drippy dog. George Lopez, Jamie Foxx and will.i.am play the macaws’ best new friends who try to light a romantic fire between the duo.
Tracy Morgan’s slobbering bulldog may sell a million plush toys.
So why doesn’t “Rio” approach the Pixar level of animated greatness? The narrative is mostly to blame, a story lumbering forward when it should be soaring. The 3-D flying sequences – a rare example of the third dimension earning its keep – can’t push Blu’s saga into the stratosphere.
Eisenberg’s constipated line deliveries gel beautifully with Blu’s sad-sack eyes, and every other vocal performance proves an appropriate match.
“Rio” bursts with Brazilian energy when the famous Rio Carnival kicks into gear, but the film itself could use more of that jet fuel to tell its tale.
(Photo: George Lopez, Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway voice the characters of Raphael, Blu and Jewel, respectively in the new animated film “Rio.” 20th Century Fox)
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