If you have a child -- or are just very much in touch with your inner child -- you'll move to the rhythm of "Rio," a rainbow-colored animated feature from the creators of "Ice Age." The G-rated family film features expert voice work by Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez, Jamie Foxx, Jemaine Clement, Tracy Morgan, will.i.am and more.
Eisenberg voices Blu, a rare domesticated Spix's Macaw who is snatched from his jungle home in Rio de Janeiro and discovered and raised by Linda in Minnesota. Blu is clumsy and awkward and cannot fly, but he can ride a skateboard and log onto a computer.
He lives happily with Linda and works at her bookstore for 15 years, until a British ornithologist named Túlio requests that Blu be taken back to Rio to mate with another macaw like him to preserve the species. Poor Blu hasn't even learned how to fly yet, let alone the basics of the birds and the bees; but he is whisked off to a Brazilian aviary where he meets and quickly falls for a fellow Spix Macaw named Jewel (Hathaway), a free-spirited chick who longs to escape into the wilderness. Blu also meets some urban birds, like the rapping red-crested cardinal Pedro (will.i.am) and his samba-loving companion, a yellow canary named Nico (Foxx).
There are plenty of spirited music and dance numbers as both human and avian populace prepare for Carnival, but danger looms when smugglers birdnap Blu and Jewel and try to take them out of the country to sell as exotic pets. If Blu wants to outmaneuver a psychotic cockatoo named Nigel (Clement) who works for the smuggler, as well as win Jewel's heart, our lovable blue hero had better learn to spread his wings and fly... fast.
Lopez plays a toucan who tells Blu that flying is all about finding the rhythm in one's heart, and this film has a lot of the latter. Sure, it's yet another of many zany animated adventures featuring big-eyed critters, but at least this one aims young with a strong message of wildlife conservation. Infused with the energy of Carnival and Rio de Janeiro, "Rio" just might make you shake a tailfeather along with these birds of paradise.
Extras! Both the DVD and Blu-ray contain two music videos, "Rio de JAM-eiro Jukebox," a deleted scene and access to 15 new downloadable levels of Angry Birds Rio. The Blu-ray adds more to the party with exclusives like "Explore the World of 'Rio,'" "Saving the Species: One Voice at a Time," "The Making of Hot Wings," "Boom-Boom Tish-Tish: The Sounds of 'Rio,'" "Carnival Dance-O-Rama," "Postcards from 'Rio'" and "The Real Rio."
