Perry’s Preview Movie Review – Rio 2

Rio 2 is a vibrant musical comedy animation from Blue Sky, and a sequel of the first Rio.  The story revolves around Blu and Jewel, the last two surviving Blue Sphinx Macaws left in the world, and their 3 rowdy children.  The two are polar opposites: Blu is a quiet, apprehensive pet who knows how to cook pancakes and use a computer; while Jewel is wild, audacious, thrill-seeking bird, born and raised in the wild tropical rainforest.

The film begins with an unoriginal, stereotypical scene of the two parents arguing about how to raise the kids.  The adventure and excitement of the story begins when Jewel and Blu’s guardians, the ornithologist Tulio and his wife Linda (Blu’s owner) supposedly find a flock of wild blue macaws, thousands of miles from civilization in the dense rainforest.  Jewel is overjoyed at the prospect of not being alone, and immediately plans on a trip to the Amazon.  Blu feels the exact opposite: he has a terrible fear of the jungle, fueled by the ideas of creatures such as terrifying tarantulas or hungry snakes.  In the end, Jewel forces Blu to come along, but Blu is inseparable with manufactured objects such as iPod and GPS, which he keeps in a fanny-pack.  It turns out, the flock exists, and Jewel’s long lost father is the chief!  The discovery of the flock changes everything, and the couple begin to drift apart due to their differing ideals.

Bringing back an old foe to Rio 2, Nigel, the wicked cockatoo from Rio is back for revenge after his failed attempt to kill Blu cost him his ability to fly.  Nigel is accompanied by the poisonous frog Gabi, and Charlie the scatter-brained ant-eater, on his quest for vengeance.  The second antagonist is the Brazilian owner of a huge illegal logging business, who won’t hesitate to chop up the occasional passing tree-huggers.

This film has occasional dazzling visual effects and impressive individual character designs.  I can appreciate all the hard work done in animation to animate the feathers, a tedious, difficult medium to animate.  I also appreciate its message of conservation and protecting the rainforest.  However, other than these points, I didn’t enjoy the other parts of the movie.  I dislike when the filmmakers put low-quality pop music when it wasn’t necessary, but they put it in anyway.  I also dislike the villains’ lack of personalities.  Nigel the cockatoo recycled the same mundane tirade on how he would kill Blu over and over again and his personality was so bland it was sickening.  The owner of the logging company had no distinct character traits whatsoever; his character is only defined by his pure evilness and his liking for lollipops.  Even his pet monkey has more of a personality than him!

I noticed in many of the scenes, the dialogue is poorly written for such circumstances.  For example, when Jewel is reunited with her father after both believed the other to be dead, their conversation during their “tearful” reunion was completely bland and devoid of emotion.  Their dialogue consisted of: “oh, how is this possible…oh there was a fire and… I had you under my wing but you fell…” Blah, blah, blah.  The point is, their interaction is painful to watch, as it does not seem like they truly feel real emotion or joy at their reunion.

I give Rio 2 two and a half starfish, it is entertaining but the storyline has little originality unlike the first Rio.  Its visual effects and character designs are its only redeeming qualities.

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Perry Chen is the youngest award-winning film/ entertainment critic & animator, artist, speaker, and entertainment personality. He started writing movie reviews at 8 using a kid-friendly starfish rating system, under the guidance of his mom Dr. Zhu Shen and his 3rd grade teacher Ms. Harris. Perry’s debut on the CBS Evening News in 2009 made him a national sensation. He has been featured extensively on local, national, and international media, including NPR, Fox, CNN, NBC, The Guardian, The China Press, and many more. He has interviewed prominent filmmakers at film festivals, red carpet premieres, and press junkets. He won a prestigious “Excellence in Journalism Award” at the San Diego Press Club in 2010 as its youngest member. Perry currently writes movie reviews for the Animation World Network, San Diego Union Tribune, Amazing Kids! Magazine, and his own Perry’s Previews website with a combined readership of over 2 million worldwide.  Perry and his family live in the community of Carmel Valley San Diego.

Dr. Zhu Shen’s love for the movies started when she was a young girl, growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution where watching movies was the only entertainment available to the masses. Her journey to become a filmmaker took a convoluted path. She studied medicine at Peking Union Medical College before coming to the US and earning a Ph.D. in biochemistry from University of Colorado, and then an MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson School. She is a producer of the upcoming documentary feature “Average Joe on the Raw,” about journey into raw food and health. Dr. Shen is also an award-winning biotech executive, author, speaker, China business expert featured on national and trade media including CBS, Fox, Business Week, Pharmaceutical Executive, and more. She has worked at IBM, Bayer, Chiron, Immusol, and is the CEO of BioForesight, consulting on cross-Pacific life science business. *Photos of Perry Chen and Zhu Shen by Brian Bostrom.