User reviews

As someone who loved the first film, while the advertising was not the best it didn't put me off seeing Rio 2. And it was very enjoyable, not as good as the original but it is an example of animated sequels that do work. The story and the pacing are uneven here, with the film getting off to a slightly slow start and feeling rushed in other places, though you do have to admire the energy there is. There are plenty of fun parts with the second half far more compelling than the first and the film rarely has a dull moment, but structurally it is on the thin side and content-wise it feels overstuffed. However, if you want lots of colour, catchy music, fun and good characters and voice acting, Rio 2 very like its predecessor doesn't disappoint. The animation is amazing with lots of vibrant detail especially in the backgrounds and nothing looks hurried or static. The colours are even more brighter and colourful than the first film too. The music has that Brazilian flavour and the songs are incredibly catchy. Don't Go Away is a very touching song, but the highlights are the pizazz-personified Poisonous Love and the hilarious rap version of I Will Survive(thought I'd never say this, can't stand rap on the most part). While the film does feel overstuffed, the content is actually really good, dialogue-wise it's smartly written and has a fair amount of heart while the gags provide plenty of laughs with sharp timing, the best being the soccer match, the jungle auditions and any scene(the Romeo and Juliet part in particular) with Gabi and Nigel. The characters are still engaging, Blu and Jewel are likable lead characters though they had more to do in the first one and Nigel has that menacing streak but is a riot. There are some great new characters as well, with Gabi as good a character as and in some cases even better the original ones. The voice acting adds to that, Jemaine Clement and Kristen Chenoweth are both phenomenal helped by that they have the film's best moments, though Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Andy Garcia and everybody else acquit themselves more than fine too. To conclude, a good sequel to a great original, enjoyed it a lot and when it comes to animated sequels there is definitely much worse(ie. Secret of NIMH 2). 7/10 Bethany Cox

Review: I did prefer the original Rio because of the catchy tunes, but that's not to say that this is a bad movie. The storyline was quite good and the animation looked brilliant. The vibrant colours and the attention to detail was spot on but the jokes weren't as funny as the original. I liked some scenes like the auditions and some of the songs and the new characters were a great addition to the cast. The main problem that I found with the film was that it seemed like there was a lot going on at once. You've got the humans taking down the forest and the main character, Blue, trying to convince his wife that there old life was better than life in the Amazon. Then you've got a human couple who are trying to explore the Amazon and get caught up with thugs who don't want there operation interrupted. Anyway, when you put all of these elements together, it does make a good movie that must have taken a lot of work from the creators, but for some unknown reason, the simpler original was more enjoyable. 

Round-Up: This movie really does have some top names used as the voices of the characters. From Jesse Eissenberg, who seems to be in form at the moment, to Anne Hathaway and Andy Garcia who voices Eduardo, all the characters really do work together. Even Jamie Foxx, Bruno Mars, Tracy Morgan and Will.I.Am bring some urban flavour to the movie which really works as the comedy element. Anyway, on a whole, it's a great watch for the kids and there is some jokes for the adults which makes it fun for the whole family. Judging by the box office takings, I'm sure that were going to see a 3rd instalment of the birds on there adventures.

Budget: $103million Worldwide Gross: $496million (WOW!)

I recommend this movie to people who were fans of the first Rio and who are into there animation movies about birds saving the Amazon. 6/10

As a sequel to the 2011 original, Rio 2 continues in the tradition of its older sibling with screwball humor and madcap mischief. While maintaining a pedigree for celebrating song and dance through a kaleidoscopic burst of colors, Rio 2 is gorgeously rendered but offset by a clichéd script that is also laced with classroom lecture.

This sequel begins in Rio de Janeiro where our feathered friends Blu and Jewel (Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway) discover that they are not the last of their species after all. Along with their three kids, they leave Rio and fly to the Amazonian rain forest where an entire flock of blue macaws was reportedly spotted. As it turns out, the flock exists and is headed by Jewel's long lost father Eduardo (Andy Garcia) and guarded by her old flame Roberto (Bruno Mars). Now reduced to a stuttering parrot, Blu must man-up to his overzealous father-in-law (think Robert De Niro in Meet the Parents) while thwarting Roberto's attempts (think Owen Wilson in Meet the Parents) at charming Jewel. Meanwhile, Blu's nemesis Nigel (Jemaine Clement) has resurfaced and is all out for revenge.

Come school days and kids will have plenty of reason to mimic their favorite characters. From human characters voiced by Rodrigo Santoro and Leslie Mann, to Blu's crooning friends Nico (Jamie Foxx), Pedro (Will.i.am), everyone is back for a second round of slapstick shenanigans. And joining the old cast are some feisty new voice talents including Kristin Chenoweth as Gabi, a poisonous dart-frog so obsessed with Nigel, you could even think of her as his psycho girlfriend. Haunted by a disastrous turn of events in the first movie, Nigel himself is loonier than before with a thespian swagger that pokes fun at none other than the Bard of Avon. Speaking of which, lookout for a hilarious scene aimed at adults where Nigel and Gabi find themselves dramatizing one of Shakespeare's greatest plays. While many such segments are genuinely funny, the story strays at times with subplots from deforestation to male bonding, before stepping into a puddle of teary-eyed melodrama. Kids laughed and adults clapped, but there were periods of silence too, and I am not referring to those brief scenes where death was implied.

Emerging as a game changer in animated films, Blue Sky Studios, a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox, struck gold with its very first feature production – Ice Age (2002). It's been tunneling through a gold mine ever since. While Rio 2 might seem like a cash cow for some viewers, it is still a delightful animation with foot-tapping music to get your groove on. And like a Gloria Gaynor hit song performed by Clement's Nigel, there is every reason to believe this sequel will survive.

Rio I was good enough to be entertaining and loved. It was fun. However, there wasn't much of a necessity to a sequel unless it matches its level and authencity. They are already happy, one, satisfied. There isn't a huge plot to look for. There isn't much space for comedy or even the twists and turns. It was so unoriginal I couldn't even connect them back to the ones they already were. The visuals make us awestruck and are very creative. However, only visuals can't make a movie complete. I didnt enjoy it. Heisenberg was good when his csreer stafted, hasn't been as effective in theast few years. However, He's still young and already a big name.

While it wasn't the best movie or even the best animation I have seen this year, this movie is definitely entertaining.

The movie begins with Blu, Jewel and their three kids having fun in their home in Rio, while Blu's former owner, Linda, and her husband, Tulio, are in the amazon. While in the Amazon, they discover a flock of blue macaws. Seeing this on the news, Jewel is desperate to visit and the story begins as Blu, his family and his friends from the last movie accompany him to the Amazon.

The story is decent. There are quite a few songs and plenty of comedic moments as well. While Blu is trying to fit in the tribe, there are a couple of dangerous foes around, Nigel and an illegal tree logger (one of which had plenty of moments which kind of reminded me of Avatar). There are plenty of great moments in the amazon when Blu is trying to fit in, which leads to one of my favourite moments, which was when they revealed the Pit of Doom. Also, it was fun to see Nigel (the white cockatoo) back, along with some new characters. The voice-work and music were quite good as well.

This movie is entertaining, the story and ending are nice as well. Although I have rated it the same as Rio, I think this was a little better. Found it to be quite funny and more action packed as well. A fun family movie.

Quickie Review:

Like the title of this review says, Rio 2 is basically an animated version of Meet the Parents (2000). Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (Anne Hathaway) with a family of three kids, venture into the Amazon to find a flock of their own kind. Blu faces his father-in-law for the first time and must now prove his worth to him and the flock. Hollywood is filled with movies that repeat a general formula or idea. Even with a predictable story, Rio 2 does enough to keep your attention with beautiful animation and some memorable characters. Kids especially will have a lot of fun, but the adults are not left behind.

Full Review:

Rio 2 starts with Blu and Jewel living in the Blue Macaw reserve with their three kids. Blu and the kids feel completely at home living side by side with the humans, while Jewel longs to live out in the wild with her family. They soon find out that they are not the last of their kind, and there might be a whole flock in the Amazon. This provides the perfect opportunity for the family to reconnect with their roots. Once they arrive and find the flock, Jewel is reunited with her long lost father Eduardo (Andy Garcia). Blu must now prove to Eduardo that he is worthy of his respect and blessing, while preventing Roberto (Bruno Mars) from reigniting an old flame with Jewel. In the meantime, Nigel (Jemaine Clement) along with his new obsessed companion frog Gabi (Kristin Chenoweth), seeks revenge following the events of the previous movie.

The plot in itself is nothing special or unique. Here's a quick challenge for you: just by reading the synopsis, think what the beginning, the middle, the climax, and the end of this movie is going to be… Done? Well then, I don't know exactly who you are but I'm 99% sure you got it right. So yes the movie is predictable, and does fall into the trap of the many father-in-law subplot clichés. Still the movie is charming enough to not put you to sleep. It is clear that the movie is mostly targeted for the kids but there is still some humor for us adults, or the parents, or the baby sitter to enjoy.

Most of the cast have returned from the original, and they all play their parts well. However the stand outs for me has to be Nigel and newcomer Gabi. Every time they are on screen they put a smile on my face. Nigel is this over the top diva, who wants all the attention on himself because he truly believes he deserves it (well, I won't argue against it!). Gabi on the other hand is a poisonous frog that is deeply and helplessly in love with Nigel (think the popular "overly obsessed girlfriend" meme). She is also probably one of the cutest animated characters yet. These two play many of the scenes that the adults will enjoy as they dramatize popular songs and hilariously re-enact Shakespearean scenes from Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet.

In essence this movie serves the purpose of being entertaining. Rio 2 is a beautifully made animated movie with a satisfactory plot. There is nothing wrong with Rio 2, but there's not much great about it either. Kids will love this movie, and adults will not feel like they wasted their time.

A good animation is made weak by clichéd writing.

Lot of work and thought and detailing goes into an animated film. But if the writing is weak it cannot be pulled off easily. RIO 2 precisely suffers from that. The scenes are too clichéd for my comfort and the plot is very age-old. The bird formations, their beautiful feats have been all been seen in RIO and there is nothing new to offer on that front too in RIO 2. I felt like the basic format of the earlier film RIO was taken and just few modifications were done in writing. So it has that been there, seen that feel that does not add up any value.

The voice over is good and it seems like Jesse Eisenberg did make effort to feel like the bird Blu. Although the chemistry between the two birds, Blu and Jewel does not show up adequately, individually voice over of each was good. It's Anne Hathway for the female protagonist, Jewel.

The other aspects were fine, considering this is a commercial animated film. A word about music, which was good in RIO, comes weak and though are many songs, not even one was memorable, as I left the theater. So the music did not make any impression either.

If people like average stuff or have not seen RIO, perhaps will like it as they may find some new things here. For me, I did not like it and felt like a big bore. An average rating of 2/5 for this. It's not bad, it's purely mediocre.

Story: The story here suffers from too many subplots, and a lack of focus. It also doesn't help that all the subplots here are generic. This would would kill a film......if it was made by someone like Pixar or Studio Ghibli. But since this film's plot isn't the main focus, or why audiences watched the 1st Rio, then the bad story doesn't really hurt this film as much as it could've been. But it's still a bad story nonetheless. 4/10

Animation: It's beautiful, gorgeous, colorful, and worth watching on Blu-ray or Blu-ray 3D. 10/10

Characters And Comedy: All characters here follow standard archetypes we all know of, but Nigel and Gabi serve as the most original and most entertaining. Comedy is solid with some funny moments in the film. 6/10

Sound: Good score and amazing soundtrack. Love the songs here more than Frozen, but none really hit the heights of Hot Wings from the 1st. Although some of the songs do come close. 9/10

Acting And Casting: All actors/actresses do a good job voicing their roles, especially with Jesse E. as the voice of Blu. I'm also surprised Bruno Mars didn't suck. 7/10

Verdict: Don't watch this film for the story. Watch it like you would a Madagascar film and just sit back, relax, and enjoy an entertaining family film with some beautiful animation, good comedy, and amazing songs.

Extra: +1 for being a sequel I enjoyed.

Rating: 8/10

For a more in-depth review (stupid 1000 word limit), check out my Metacritic review: http://www.metacritic.com/user/DemonicSoul?myscore- filter=Movie

Like "Avatar", only instead of blue humanoids, we have blue parrots. It may be visually fascinating in 3D, but at home, on the computer, it did not leave a special impression. If you liked the first one, you will like this one too. If not, skip it.

6/10

Getting back into thinking about how narratives get put together, I am reminded of how many radically different strategies there are in approaching a film.

If you talk to the (old) Pixar guys, what you'll hear is a focus on story, a cinematic notion of story, above all else. The story comes first; characters emerge whether they are promising franchise characters or not. It is all about making the flow engaging and creating a lasting experience.

As I go through my list of valued filmmakers, I can pull out a number of different approaches: Ruiz looks for the dissonance between narrative layers and removes the middle. Cronenberg finds a disturbing edge, creates a situation, then builds things to present it. Spielberg makes comics that are refined in story boards then mechanically reproduced in film. I'll have to think about the varieties.

Then we have this guy, Saldanha, who has sold a lot of tickets to happy viewers.

The strategy here seems to be to create characters above all else. Make characters. Find some kind of simple enclosing story, it doesn't matter what. Have all the characters create their own local, small static narrative. Then just embellish and display those.

I suppose this approach has been refined over on the half hour TeeVee comedy side where story is just an excuse to have character spaces interact. I am always surprised when I see this work, and it plainly does here, though none of the characters are compelling in the ordinary way.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. In other films, I see stories getting ever more compelling in surprising ways and exhibiting self-awareness with increasing sophistication.

These are fun movies, not art films I'm talking about. So it makes sense to have films like Ice Age and Rio for minds that don't work that way, that have shorter narrative attention spans and undeveloped narrative sense.

While this is designed for international audiences, and made by a Brazilian and set in Brazil. But most of the voices and nearly all the songs are hip hop urban style that is uniquely American.

I have no expectations when walking into theater to watch this flick.I saw original it has a different,colorful animation and some funny moments but it is not a great flick so i just expected some fun and good colorful animation.and this film served me just what i thought.colorful birds and backgrounds,excellent dances,cool music.but if you go deep there is nothing great about plot.routine and predictable.however voice acting once again saved us.and there are some fun moments which will provide some laughs. 3D-i really loved this film in 3D. beaks come out of the screen,birds dancing in front of you,especially climax has some great 3D effects.

finally if you have no expectations and if you can neglect plot you can enjoy the film with your kids.

Yes the first movie is okay, but like Rio 2, a lot of red flags on Jewel.

From her not mentioning anything about her past life to Blue for whatever reason and not showing everyone how she lived and what tradition they had. But what upsets me the most is how she made Blue excluded through the whole movie. Yes he got help from her father, but they have to listen to him since he wasn't raised in the wild. Everyone ignored Blue. And also made Blue feel guilty for no reason.

Sequels are tricky propositions - it's hard to find creative freedom and joy in an enterprise clearly geared towards bringing in ever more heaps of cash. For every glorious Toy Story sequel, there's Cars 2 or yet another lacklustre installment in the Ice Age franchise. Fortunately for Blue Sky Studios, Rio 2 is frequently excellent, a sunny, cheerful reprise of a hit movie that finds its own grace notes.

Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg), everyone's favourite domesticated macaw, is happily married to Jewel (Anne Hathaway) after their adventures in the first film. Worried that their three beautiful children are becoming too city-bound, Jewel entreats Blu to take the family to the Amazon to connect with their roots. Once in the jungle, Jewel discovers that she and Blu aren't the only surviving adult blue macaws in the world after all: she reconnects with her family, including her dad Eduardo (Andy Garcia) and childhood friend Roberto (Bruno Mars). Suddenly, Blu is the odd one out, and must desperately try to fit into a wild, raucous world that seems to have no place for him and his civilised ways.

There's almost too much happening in Rio 2: apart from Blu's family troubles, the macaw tribe's haven in the jungle is under threat from a ruthless logging company. Fan favourite Nigel (Jemaine Clement) - the most puffed-up, actorly, diabolical cockatoo you'll ever meet - returns to take revenge upon his nemesis, Blu, with poisonous tree frog Gabi (Kristin Chenoweth) in tow. As per the first film, Rio 2 also packs its soundtrack with joyful, high-energy numbers - which is explained away by Nico (Jamie Foxx) and Pedro (will.i.am) auditioning jungle denizens for a spot in the upcoming Rio Carnival.

What's so impressive about this film is how it manages to make all the disparate elements of its overstuffed plot work. Powered by a loopy, irrepressible charm, Rio 2 dashes from scene to scene, but doesn't forget to pack in moments that range from affecting (Jewel's tender lullaby Don't Go Away) to absurd (Blu's GPS charting the route to Funky Town). The characters in any given sequel are usually the first to get lost in the shuffle, but they each get moments to shine here. Blu's connection with his human companion Linda (Leslie Mann) isn't the focus of this film, but nevertheless makes itself felt in the final act. The relationship between Blu and Jewel is also beautifully heartfelt, dealing with ideas of compromise and growth after the honeymoon is long over.

There's even room for a new breakout character. The shock of delight provided by Nigel in the first film - so gleefully subversive a villain - is largely eroded here, and he comes off more as a determined buffoon than anything else. But he's ably matched by the amorous Gabi, whose hopeless adoration of Nigel is channelled into two of the film's highlights: Poisonous Love, an overblown ballad with several hints of The Phantom Of The Opera; and a wacky, wonderfully rearranged rendition of Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive.

Unwieldy though its plot may be, Rio 2 breezes through it all with cheeky energy and eye-wateringly glorious animation. But what makes Rio 2 as good as - if not better than - its predecessor is director Carlos Saldanha's understanding that losing sight of his characters will only damage the film. And so, amidst the tumult of mid-air football games and swooping aerial dance formations, Saldanha roots everything in the big, loving hearts of Blu and his extended family. The film - and the franchise - are all the better for it.

The best feat of these Rio movies is how it wholeheartedly shows the landscapes and culture of Brazil. The first twenty or thirty minutes explores the wondrously colorful version of each places. Well, the entire movie really is eye candy, which makes you wish that the whole thing is nothing more than a cinematic tour. People who will come in for the location won't be disappointed because that is exactly what the film is excellent at. Though it's not actually an in-depth exploration, but it's still an inviting ride.

Which is probably why the storyline suddenly hits to telling various ecological messages: one is how we shouldn't take the beauty of the Amazon for granted, and the other is against the logging of the forest. These can form an engaging story, especially after introducing us the wonders of these places, but the plot has caught itself with too many subplots. I mean there is too much conflict to deal with. For example: we see the cockatoo Nigel seeking for revenge to Blu, meanwhile there's Linda and Tulio getting into trouble with the loggers, further on the Macaw flock is unable to accept Blu because of his humanly attitude, and there is even an audition for dancing and drama. There is so much going on, yet any of it hardly offered any momentum to the story. We can see what theme they're trying to say to the audience, but these random stuff being put together randomly makes it kind of complicated.

We couldn't deny that the film overall is still fun. Yes, it has occasional laughs and the flying scenes bring a spectacular scale. There are dance/musical numbers that are well constructed even though most of them feels like they just came out of nowhere. The cast are still a delight. Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway continues to shine in their roles. Jemaine Clement remains to be the most impressive among, even if the character becomes less necessary than before. Strong additions like Andy Garcia and Kristin Chenoweth also benefits to the adventure by giving distinct personalities that haven't been stepped in the film's lively world.

Rio 2 got some grand potential right there, the problem is it's mostly just jumping from one distraction to another. The second half is probably supposed to be a series of fun sequences, but it never grows as a compelling story, no matter how it keeps delivering important sentiments about family and the environment. It's difficult to fault anyone for this since they are at least trying to elevate the material, the film just needs to be straightforward and consistent, kind of like the first movie. On the other hand, it's visually beautiful. I guess the animation and the vocal performances are the good things that remain intact. Just be aware of the extravagance and we're good.

A awsome movie of musical animation movie i really Love this movie wase good i'm on Love with this movie and i want see it again in Latvija and ASV & USA this movie Made me cry of the Music and i cry of happyines i want to see All ASV & USA movie in Latvija.

The first thing I thought when this film ended was how does a kid sit through that whole film and not get bored? There is just way too much talking and doing nothing in the film and not enough action and adventure.

Yes it's colorful and the animation is nice, but the story itself is boring and clichéd.

I liked the intro because I have travelled around south America and it was nice to see a good animation of rio and the good music gave a nice vibe to the introduction but after that it went downhill for me, just way to much birds chattering away in trees and not enough action and adventure.

when you compare this to the likes of toy story, up, shrek, wall-e and even ratatouille, this movie comes far behind in the "pecking" order.

I loved the original Rio film and I found Rio 2 to be a very enjoyable sequel. What really makes these movies great is the outstanding attention to detail. The colours are extremely bright and vibrant which make the adventure all the more enjoyable. The scenery is beautiful too and brings a realistic feeling.

Its great that all the original characters remained (from what I can remember anyway) and then there was some new additions too. The red frog was particularly amusing and it was great to see more of "the kids". All the characters were voiced exceptionally well which meant the jokes were executed perfectly to provide the laughs. There was actually quite a few laugh out loud moments and in general it's a film that made me smile all the way through.

The storyline to this sequel was interesting and the film flowed at a nice pace. There were some great scenes but my particular favourite was the football match!

Overall I really enjoyed this sequel. I think Rio is a very underrated animated movie franchise,I personally hope there's going to be a Rio 3.

8/10