Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Blu-ray Review - Rio 2


Rio 2
Director: Carlos Saldanha
Voice Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Leslie Mann, Bruno Mars, Jemaine Clement, George Lopez, Jamie Foxx, will.i.am
Studio: 20th Century Home Entertainment
Release Date: July 15, 2014
Retail: $39.99
ASIN: B00JK532GA
Running Time: 101 minutes
Rating: G
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD yesterday is the blockbuster computer-animated sequel, Rio 2.  Special Features on the Blu-ray includes Rio Refresher; deleted scenes; Boom, Shake, Snap: The Local Sounds of Brazil; Birds and Beats: The Singing Talents of Rio 2; Nigel the Shakespearean Cockatoo and Friends; Music, Dance, Sing Along Machine; You Be the Judge Auditions; "What Is Love" Lyric Video by Janelle Monae, still gallery; and Almost Home Teaser Short.

Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg), his wife Jewel (voiced by Anne Hathaway) and their three kids, Carla, Bia and Tiago, along with their pals Rafael, Nico and Pedro, leave Rio in search of Blu's former owner Linda Gunderson (voiced by Leslie Mann ) and her husband, Tulio Monteiro, who are currently in the Amazon. They are also on the hunt for other blue macaws that have been spotted in the area.


Blu, Jewel and their family do indeed find the blue macaws, including Jewel's father, Eduardo. While Jewel and their children are easily accepted into the flock, Blu is considered an outsider since he was raised by a human.

Meanwhile, a group of illegal loggers find out that Linda and Tulio are in the area and they plan on stopping them from finding the location of the blue macaws, so the loggers can tear down the rainforest without any protest. To make matters worse, Nigel the cockatoo survived his apparent death from the first film. Along with his minions, an anteater named Charlie and a poison dart frog named Gabi, he plans on hunting down Blu and killing him.

Despite mixed reviews from critics and moviegoers, the film was a box-office hit this year.

Though  I consider myself a fan of cartoons, I didn't care for much for the original film Rio, though I only saw bits and pieces of it when it aired on HBO. However, I did enjoy watching Rio 2, which is a whole lot better than the first film, despite the fact the ending climax was a ripoff of Avatar with the blue macaws fighting off the loggers. The songs featured in the film are charming and the dialogue is hilarious. I especially liked the Phantom of the Opera spoof scene with Nigel and Gabi. My only complaint is that the film was a tad bit too long for a cartoon. It could have been fifteen to twenty minutes less. Overall, Rio 2 is a fan computer-animated film that the whole family can enjoy watching together.



*Disclaimer - I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.


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