'Rio' (English, Animation)
Director: Carlos Saldanha
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Jemaine Clement, Leslie Mann, Tracy Morgan, George Lopez, Jamie Foxx, Rodrigo Santoro
An allegation that is often levelled against our education system is that it is far more attuned to churning out professionals than channeling natural abilities. But what are these natural abilities and does every child have one? Is there a natural order in which everyone must find his or her place?
The idea seems a little fascist but one cannot deny that there are certain skills, within the classroom or outside, that come naturally to some and we will always debate if this is because of nature or nurture. One may never know if the overachievers are so because of dint or design but outside of us homosapiens, there does exist an assigned order in nature.
Bees pollinate and birds fly, but not Linda’s domesticated Blue Macaw in ‘Rio’. And one needs look no further than his name to understand why. Abducted from the forests of Rio de Janeiro when just a fledgling, Tyler Bu Henderson (Blu to friends) is adopted and raised in Minnesota by a bookish young Linda. Over time his human parentage leads him further and further away from his birdly identity.
He is aware of Bernoulli’s principles but cannot translate this knowledge into action. What holds Blu back is the paralyzing emotion felt most acutely by those who only read and don’t do — fear. It turns out, however, that Blu has a problem that purely intellectual beings are unburdened with: he is the last remaining male bird in his species. Quite literally then, the future of his race depends on him. He is escorted to Brazil to meet and mate with the forest grown, free flying Jewel, voiced by Anne Hathway.
One cannot help but wonder if the colour cerulean has ever featured so frequently in an actress’ career. Wasn’t is just a few years ago that Meryl Streep admonished her in ‘Devil Wears Prada’ for her choice in dowdy blue sweaters?
What begins as a mismatched romance between Blu and Jewel, blossoms through the various travails the two birds face after they are kidnapped from their sanctuary. Along the way they meet a sinister cockatoo with an English accent, a much-married Toucan, a two bird musical troupe consisting of a canary and a cardinal, a crew of thieving monkeys and a saliva-slobbering bulldog. Each of these characters infuses the proceedings with a unique dose of humor while subtly inching the protagonists toward their goal. And much like Blu, we find ourselves dancing along to the Samba beats that course through ‘Rio’s narrative.
Carlos Saldanha also infuses the film with a persistent sense of humour that becomes the films most effective characteristic. Each of the eminently recognizable voice actors, particularly Tracy Morgan as the bulldog Luiz, also bring with them a sense of humour that only makes the experience that much more enjoyable. Thus, it is with a smile on our lips, a step in our toes and a little irony in our heart that we watch a Blue Macaw relinquish his human tendencies to find flight and that most human of emotions, love.