Rio (film)

Directed by	Carlos Saldanha
Produced by	John C. Donkin Bruce Anderson Chris Wedge
Screenplay by	Don Rhymer Joshua Sternin Jeffrey Ventimilia Todd R.Jones Earl Richey Jones
Story by	Carlos Saldanha

Rio, often promoted as Rio: The Movie, is a 2011 American 3D computer-animated musicalcomedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios and directed by Carlos Saldanha. The title refers to the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro,^[3] in which the film is set. The film features the voices ofJesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez, Jemaine Clement and Jake T. Austin.^[4] The film tells the story of Blu (Eisenberg), a blue macaw who is taken to Rio de Janeiro to mate with a female. He eventually falls in love with Jewel (Hathaway), a free spirited macaw, and together they have to escape from being smuggled by Nigel (Clement), a cockatoo.

Saldanha developed his first story concept of Rio in 1995, in which a penguin is washed up in Rio. However, Saldanha learned of the production of the films Happy Feet and Surf's Up, and changed the concept to involve macaws and their environments in Rio. He proposed his idea toChris Wedge in 2006, and the project was set up at Blue Sky. The main voice actors were approached in 2009. During production, the crew visited Rio de Janeiro and also consulted with an expert on macaws at the Bronx Zoo to study their movements.

20th Century Fox released the film on March 22, 2011 in Rio de Janeiro, and was later released in the United States on April 15, 2011. The film received positive reviews from film critics. Observers praised the visuals, voice acting and music. The film was also a box office success, grossing over $448 million worldwide.

Plot

The story takes place in Rio de Janeiro. Wildlife trade is common there, and several types of exotic birds get smuggled to different countries. One such bird is Blu, a Spix's Macaw who is unable to fly and his owner is Linda. The film begins with Blu being smuggled from Rio de Janeiro to the city of Moose Lake, Minnesota. Shortly thereafter, Linda finds him as soon as he arrives in Moose Lake in the snow. Fifteen years later, Blu and Linda have become friends and live together in her bookstore. Blu is still unable to fly, but has adopted Linda's lifestyle. However, Blu is ridiculed by local animals.

One day, Linda meets a Brazilian ornithologist named Túlio Monterio informs Linda that Blu is the last male of his species. Túlio also says that he has discovered a female macaw in Rio, and offers her to take Blu to mate with her to preserve the species.

Túlio, Linda and Blu are flown to Rio, where Blu meets a Red-crested Cardinal named Pedro and his Yellow Canary friend Nico. Blu is taken to Túlio's aviary, and falls in love with Jewel, another macaw longing to escape into the wilderness. Blu and Jewel are captured and chained by a group of smugglers led by Marcel. Marcel's Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Nigel tells the two that he was once a performer on a television program, but he was soon replaced by a parakeet. Embittered by this experience, Nigel specializes in capturing exotic birds such as Jewel. Blu and Jewel flee from the smugglers and end up in a jungle.

The next morning, Blu and Jewel meets a toucan named Rafael, who offers to take the macaws to his bulldog friend Luiz in removing the chain. He also tries to teach Blu how to fly, before the threesome meet Pedro and Nico. Nigel hires a horde of thieving marmosets led by Mauro to help capture Blu and Jewel. Linda and Túlio, along with the smugglers' young assistant Fernando, also try to find Blu. Pedro and Nico take Blu and Jewel to a bird's samba club, where they perform a duet, but are attacked by the marmosets. Their bird friends, including aRoseate Spoonbill named Kipo, fend them off long enough for the five to escape. Fernando eventually leads Linda and Túlio to the smugglers' hideout. While there, Marcel reveals his plan to use the Carnaval festival to smuggle Blu and Jewel.

Meanwhile, Blu and the others meet Luiz, who uses his drool to release Blu and Jewel from the chain, much to Jewel's happiness. Just as Blu, who is too depressed to fly, part ways with Jewel, she is captured by Marcel and Nigel. Linda, Túlio, Blu, Rafael, Nico and Pedro infiltrate the festival. The humans pose as dancers there, but Marcel and Nigel capture the birds. Blu uses a fire extinguisher to free all the captive birds on Marcel's cargo plane, but Nigel attacks Blu. Jewel ends up in a dangerous accident, and Blu lures Nigel into one of the plane's propellers. As Marcel and the others jump out of the plane, Jewel falls out of the cargo hold, but Blu jumps after her. While falling, she kisses Blu, finally encouraging him to fly. The duo reunites with Linda and Túlio, who treats Jewel.

Later, Linda and Túlio organize and run a sanctuary along with Fernando to protect part of the jungle from smugglers. Blu and Jewel are released into the jungle to reunite with their bird friends. During the credits, Blu and Jewel are the parents of three chicks. Nigel is shown to have survived from the plane crash, and Mauro humiliates Nigel for his loss of feathers; meanwhile, Marcel and the smugglers are arrested.

Voice cast

• Jesse Eisenberg as Blu, a Blue Macaw. He is socially awkward, domesticated, and clumsy. Blu was smuggled from Rio de Janeiro to Moose Lake and was adopted by Linda, who lived with her for 15 years. While he can log on a computer and shred on a skateboard, he can not fly.
• Anne Hathaway as Jewel, a free-spirited Blue Macaw. She is initially concerned with escaping to the wilderness. Meeting Blu causes her to be displeased, but she eventually falls in love with Blu.
• George Lopez as Rafael, a Toco Toucan. After learning that Blu can not fly, Rafael attempts an impromptu lesson, telling him that flying is about feeling the rhythm of one's heart.
• Jemaine Clement as Nigel, a sadistic Sulphur-crested Cockatoo who was once a former television actor. After Nigel was replaced by a parakeet, however, he develops a hatred of exotic birds and specializes in capturing them for his owner Marcel.
• Jake T. Austin as Fernando, an impoverished and orphaned Brazilian boy. His duties are to assist Marcel into capturing exotic birds and to earn money. He eventually decides to betray Marcel and to help Linda and Túlio find Blu.
• Bernardo de Paula as Sylvio, an obese security guard at Túlio's aviary. He is also a fan of the Carnaval festival and spends as much time as he can dancing the samba.
  • Paula is also credited for the voice of Kipo, a Roseate Spoonbill at the bird's samba club. He helps Blu and Jewel escape when Mauro and his henchmen attack them.
• Leslie Mann as Linda, Blu's human owner who discovers Blu after being taken from Rio de Janeiro and adopted him for 15 years.
  • Sofia Scarpa Saldanha voices the younger Linda.
• Tracy Morgan as Luiz, a bulldog and a chainsaw expert who has a medical condition of drooling.
• Will.i.am as Pedro, a rapping Red-crested Cardinal who befriends Blu and gives him advice on how to attract girls.
• Jamie Foxx as Nico, a close friend of Pedro. He is a Yellow Canary with a green and purple striped bottlecap as a hat that loves to samba.
• Rodrigo Santoro as Túlio, a Brazilian bird scientist who finds that Blu is the last male of his species. Túlio eventually builds a relationship with Linda.
  • Santoro also voices a soccer announcer.
• Wanda Sykes as Chloe, a Canada Goose from Moose Lake.
• Chavo Vaynér as a woodpecker.
• Jane Lynch as Alice, another Canada Goose.
• Bebel Gilberto as Eva, a Keel-billed Toucan and Rafael's wife.
• Carlos Ponce as Marcel, the leader of the smugglers and Nigel's owner who gives him difficult tasks to which none of his partners can achieve.
• Jeff Garcia as Tipa, one of Marcel's henchmen.
  • Garcia is also the voice of a bat that gets kidnapped by the smugglers.
• Davi Viera of Forro in the Dark as Armando, one of Marcel's henchmen.
• Brian Baumgartner as Mauro, a king of thieving Common marmosets who are hired by Nigel to help capture Blu and Jewel. However, Mauro disapproves of Nigel's abusive behavior.