It's no surprise that Rio comes with a 'from the creators of Ice Age' tag. Ice Age is Brazilian-born director Carlos Saldanha's crowning glory and Rio, which takes place in Brazil, has the makings of a monster franchise. It has smart dialogue, a sweet love story, likeable leads, an adorable supporting cast, and goofy villains.
The movie's premise is this: there are only two blue macaws left in the world. Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) is a domesticated male from Minnesota who can't fly, and Jewel (Anne Hathaway) is a female living in a bird complex in Rio de Janeiro. So the two can 'save the species'.
Blu is taken to Rio by his owner Linda (Leslie Mann).
The two macaws don't exactly hit it off but they are soon kidnapped by a group of thugs, led by the cockatoo Nigel (Jemaine Clement), who hope to cash in by selling them.
With the help of new-found bird buddies Rafael (George Lopez), Nico (Jamie Foxx) and Pedro (will.i.am), and bulldog Luiz (Tracy Morgan), Blu hopes to reunite with Linda and win Jewel over.
Rio provides a steady stream of laughs. At times it's very, very funny.