Rio (3D)

Family, Animated
4 stars
Cute story with a visually stunning palette and tap-your-foot music. An endangered “cerulean macaw” named Blu is sent to Rio to mate with a female. Parents: be prepared to explain the “birds and bees” (pun intended) to your little ones as well as explaining why a little boy would be impoverished and homeless. Being a former parrot enthusiast I can tell you there is no such thing as a “cerulean macaw”, but there is a gorgeous and endangered Hyacinth Macaw with pretty yellow cheeks and eyelids, so I’m not sure why Disney Pixar didn’t just highlight the real bird? Also, I don’t agree with their choices of Jesse Eisenberg and Ann Hathaway as the voices for the leads; I was distracted by the voices that didn’t seem to fit the characters. Other voices were great (even though none of them were Brazilian!), including will.i.am, Jamie Foxx (who would have been a better voice for the lead) and George Lopez. Nevertheless, Rio is a fun, entertaining and very colorful romp. Now I really want to see the Rio Carnival!!!