Rashid Irani's review: Rio

With its bright designs, slam-bang action and bouncy soundtrack, Rio is an animated mélange of music, mayhem and mirth. Anchoring the storyline to colourful computer generated imagery, director Saldanha (Ice Age2: The Meltdown) vividly captures details of location and characters.

Summer fun’s here

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Rio
Direction: Carlos Saldanha
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway
Rating: ***

With its bright designs, slam-bang action and bouncy soundtrack, Rio is an animated mélange of music, mayhem and mirth. Anchoring the storyline to colourful computer generated imagery, director Saldanha (Ice Age2: The Meltdown) vividly captures details of location and characters.

It is an absolute pleasure to get acquainted with a nerdy blue macaw (Eisenberg) named — what else? — Blu. Raised by his owner (Leslie Mann) in a bookstore in wintry Minnesota, the exotic bird that can’t fly quite yet is transported to sunny Rio de Janeiro. He is expected to mate with the last surviving female (Hathaway) of the species.

The world of the avian duo turns upside-down when they are captured by bungling bird smugglers. Accompanied by a squad of feathered friends, they organise a great escape.

The feel-good fable is narrated without a trace of sanctimoniousness and effectively connects with the kiddies as well as the grown-up viewer.

The screenplay is packed with captivating characters like a pompous pelican (rapper will.i.am of the hip-hop group “The Black Eyed Peas”) and a hard-partying canary (Jamie Foxx).