adminThe 2011 animation Rio, about the adventures of Blu, an over-domesticated, neurotic blue macaw, was always certain to hatch a sequel, such was its success at the box office.
And here it is, just in time for the Easter holidays.
Better still, Rio 2 is no less engaging than the first film. There is as much for parents to enjoy as children, as Blu sets off from the city to find the Amazonian rainforest — with the help of a misfiring SatNav.
It would be a little fanciful to suggest that only a Brazilian director could convey the passion for his native land than Carlos Saldanha does here, with an exuberant football match between the blue macaws and a team of red parrots.
But, with Brazil soon to host the World Cup, it represents a timely nod to the country’s greatest obsession.
The story is relevant, too, as Blu (again voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) and his wife Jewel (Anne Hathaway), find themselves in the rainforest reunited with the rest of their flock, doing their utmost to resist the relentless logging industry. Blu feels out of place in the jungle. He is, after all, “sounbirdly” that he can only open a Brazil nut with a Swiss Army knife.
But gradually he realises his responsibilities, leading him to another showdown with his adversary from last time, a conniving cockatoo (English-accented, like so many Hollywood villains) called Nigel. It’s great fun. – teenshowbiz.
Online Reporter