Rio

For decades, Disney dominated the animated feature market with its unique brand of family-friendly fun. The first challenger to the throne was Pixar with their 1995 computer generated Toy Story, completely changing the nature of the game forever. However, in 2001 Dreamworks (made up from some former Disney employees) smashed previous expectations with the surprise hit Shrek, and the floodgates were open.

Upstarts Blue Sky Studios came along the following year with Ice Age, directed by Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha, and its success has led to two sequels to date and another on the way. Saldanha (also behind Robots) departs from his run of prehistoric comedies, has moved to decidedly warmer climes for the latest Blue Sky outing.

Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network) lives in domestic bliss with his loving owner Linda in suburban Minnesota. Their lives change when they learn that Blu is the last male of a rare species of Blue Macaw, and is whisked off to Rio to breed with the reluctantly captive Jewel (Anne Hathaway, Love and Other Drugs). Things go horribly wrong when they are kidnapped by poachers. Not only must they escape the clutches of the poachers – and the talons of their evil pet, a cockatoo named Nigel (Jermaine Clement, Flight of the Conchords) and his monkey henchmen – but Blu must survive in the wild jungles of Rio and find his way back to Linda.

The increasingly crowded animation market is perpetually relying on big names to attach themselves to the projects, and a barrage of intertextual references to attract a wider audience than those pesky kids and their limited disposable budgets. When this works, as was the case with the first Shrek and Ice Age, it is a highly succesful recipe. However, all too often this approach results in far too many anachronistic jokes, pop-cultural references and wasted talent that alienates younger children and baffles the adults.

Thankfully, Rio strikes a perfect balance between kiddie-focused and pop-frenzy by keeping the footnotes to a minimum, and providing us with a film that is simply a joy to watch. Despite a fairly derivative storyline, one that replicates the buddy-comedy ‘fish-out-of-water’ antics of Madagascar, Finding Nemo and to a lesser extent, Saldanha’s own Ice Age, the team behind the original Ice Age know when they are on to a good thing and stick to it. Distinguishing itself with a lively narrative, a collection of genuinely catchy tunes to create one of the most purely fun animated movies of recent memory.

The animation is gorgeous, from the opening cutesy shots of a baby Blu in the jungles of Rio through to the eye-popping scenes of Rio’s famous Carnival during the gripping climax, Blue Sky demonstrate that they have come leaps and bounds since the sometimes blocky look of Ice Age. Similarly, the voice cast provides a great deal of strength to the film. While it is very easy to dismiss the collection of celebrity voices as pure commercialism, everybody involved earns their letters on the marquee with well-rounded and often hilarious performances.

From the more recognisable voices of the already typecast Eisenberg and distinctive Tracy Morgan (as a bulldog named Luiz), to an almost unrecognisable Will.i.am and Jamie Foxx as a pair of hip-hop homebirds, Rio is a rarity in giving well-rounded characterisations to almost everybody in the cast. Framed by an incredibly simple story that will appeal to the younger members of the audience without alienating the older ones, something the recent (by brilliant) Rango struggled to accomplish, Rio is the type of animated comedy that is likely to be enjoyed by all members of the audience.

The Reel Bits: After a brace of Ice Age films, Rio proves that Blue Sky Studios is a force to be reckoned with on the animation circuit. It’s light and breezy story has instant appeal and the winning combination of gorgeous animation and a likeable voice cast are sure to make this a winner.

Rio is released on April 7, 2011 in Australia by 20th Century Fox.