Animal Musical: A "Rio 2" Review

So I recently made a review of Divergent which encourages individuality and now, I’m writing about Rio 2 which emphasizes the value belonging to a group. These movies are messing with our minds!

Blu and Jewel now have three kids and together, they are living a pretty comfortable life in Rio de Janeiro. However, when they learn about the possibility of a tribe of Blue Spix Macaws just like them hiding in the Amazon Rainforest, the family decides to leave their urban life behind and travel to the Amazons to find their own kind. Little did they know that an old nemesis is following their tracks, and that the surviving Spix Macaws are once again in danger of extinction.

Rio 2 Trailer

Much more than anything else, it was the music and choreography that made me enjoy Rio 2. It was a musical – and a good one I must say. The musical numbers had a charm that reminded me of Happy Feet, only that this one was bursting with colours and exuded a feeling of festivity.

The scoring and soundtrack was great – with most of them having a good beat that’s worthy enough to be on someone’s playlist. You can tell that this film was serious about its music, having voice actors like Bruno Mars, Anne Hathaway, Will. I. Am, and Chrisitine Chenoweth.  Jesse Eisenberg and Jamie Foxx didn’t do as much singing, but they’re equally charming as well.

Admittedly, the plot was just so-so. Nothing new or original about it, being all about bad guys invading the forest and the animals fighting back. It was a typical story, but I guess that’s all that this movie needed to create a backdrop for the musical performances. Still, it was a spectacle of colors and merriment, which was good since this is was what Rio de Janeiro was really about. There was even a fun soccer game with Macaws playing against each other using a Brazil nut for a soccer ball! It can’t get any more Rio than this!

Rio 2 was like one quick episode of a musical series. The plot was predictable and bland, but the movie made up for it with an awesome soundtrack, great voice actors, and beautiful musical numbers. Makes me want to fly to Rio this summer!

Rio 2 Cast

Jesse Eisenberg as Blu
Anne Hathaway as Jewel
Leslie Mann as Linda
Bruno Mars as Roberto
Jemaine Clement as Nigel
George Lopez as Rafael
Jamie Foxx as Nico
will.i.am as Pedro
Rodrigo Santoro as Tulio
Jake T. Austin as Fernando
Tracy Morgan as Luiz
Bebel Gilberto as Eva
Andy García as Eduardo
Kristin Chenoweth as Gabby
Rita Moreno as Mimi
Rachel Crow as Carla
Amandla Stenberg as Bia
Pierce Gagnon as Tiago
Philip Lawrence as Felipe


Credits to the images and videos used in this post go to "Rio 2" and/or to their respective owners. I do not own these materials. No copyright infringement intended.
Geoffrey Ledesma