Back in April the animated comedy Rio hit UK cinemas and is the story about a blue macaw, appropriately called Blu and voiced by Jesse Eisenberg, who is taken from the rainforest by poachers but accidentally marooned in snowy Minnesota and raised by Linda (Leslie Mann) as she grows from small girl to small town bookshop owner. After many years of mutual admiration their cosy life is disrupted when Brazilian bird expert Tulio arrives and persuades Linda to take Blu to Brazil to meet Jewel (Anne Hathaway) as he believes them to be the last female and male blue macaws on earth. As you might expect it doesn’t go to plan and the rest of the film follows the adventures of Blu and Jewel as they battle smugglers, an evil cannibal parrot called Nigel and the twists and turns of both circumstance and adventure in equal measure.
If you haven’t seen the film I can’t do better than to point you to our original review here by Vicki which goes into greater detail about the plot and throws in the odd spoiler or two, and means that I can spare you my attempts to reinvent the wheel.
I missed the film in the cinema when it came out, though my family saw it and loved it, so they were happy to get the chance to see it again which means that I’d say that it does have repeat viewing value unlike some I could mention. In a crowded market of computerised animal animations it’s bound to draw comparisons with Madagascar but it really does create its own space, reminding me in parts of Disney classics, such as 101 Dalmatians with its bumbling baddies, plus more recent films such as Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs for its geeky heroes. Nigel the evil parrot is definitely a star turn as the evil bird cooperating with the poachers and a source of perfectly voiced malevolence.
To whet your appetite we’ve been given an exclusive clip for you to enjoy
Now the chances are that you’ll be getting the DVD because you saw the film when it originally came out though if you missed it the first time around like me then I’d really recommend it.
As is customary with these things the DVD does have a selection of extras
- Deleted scene – Fruit Stand
- Taio Cruz- Telling The World music video….
- Bring The Party – UK families videoed dancing with the Rio birds
The final points to make are that you get the code for a free copy of the Angry Birds Rio game with it and that it also includes a digital copy to enjoy on your iPhone, iPad or tablet.
Rio is available on DVD and Blu-ray in shops now or available to rent on LOVEFiLM
