Rio 2

For some reason it interests me immensely that with Rio and its sequel Rio 2 we get the rare instance where an animated movie is not named after its protagonist. Yes there are others, Ice Age and Up being two examples, but still. I find it worth noting. Rio 2 has Blu (Jesse Eisenberg), Jewel (Anne Hathaway) and their kids travelling to the Amazon Rainforest in an attempt to find more of their kind. But things get complicated by evil loggers, the return of their old foe Nigel (Jemaine Clement), and the fact that Blu is a city bird who wears a fanny pack and uses a GPS.

The voice cast is good, there is no denying that. Eisenberg conveys the perfect timidity of his character and the support is spot on. But with the film’s expansion into the forest and the adding of characters, many of the strong players from the first film were severely marginalized. Nigel’s return is never fully developed even though he is given his own cast of minions. And even more noticeable is the lack of importance of the friends, played by Jamie Foxx, Will.I.Am and George Lopez. They’re basically only there for nostalgia’s sake and nothing more.

Plot wise, the logger and Nigel conflicts are resolved very easily and the only real development that takes place is Blu proving his worth to the jungle birds and that moves very slowly before being instantly fixed in the film’s final minutes. Sure, there is funny stuff in the there. I’m not going to pretend I didn’t laugh, but in an attempt to expand the story’s scope, so much of what worked the first time around goes unrealized here in Rio 2. I was definitely tapping my toe to the music too. I’m all for an animated musical that gets “Let it Go” out of my head.

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.