Movie · 2011 · Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family · 1h 36m · G · English
Curator score: 4.5/10 (879.9K ratings)
1 out of every 8 Americans is afraid of flying. Most of them don't have feathers.
Overview
Captured by smugglers when he was just a hatchling, a macaw named Blu never learned to fly and lives a happily domesticated life in Minnesota with his human friend, Linda. Blu is thought to be the last of his kind, but when word comes that Jewel, a lone female, lives in Rio de Janeiro, Blu and Linda go to meet her. Animal smugglers kidnap Blu and Jewel, but the pair soon escape and begin a perilous adventure back to freedom -- and Linda.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.5/10
IMDb: 6.9/10
Letterboxd: 3.47/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 72%
Metacritic: 63
TMDB: 6.8/10
Director
Carlos Saldanha
Production
Blue Sky Studios, 20th Century Fox Animation
Cast
Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Leslie Mann, Jane Lynch, will.i.am, George López, Wanda Sykes, Jamie Foxx, Rodrigo Santoro, Jemaine Clement, Jake T. Austin, Tracy Morgan, Carlos Ponce, Karen Disher, Jason Fricchione, Sofia Scarpa Saldanha, Kelly Keaton, Gracinha Leporace, Phil Miler, Bernardo de Paula
Where to watch
Disney Plus, Hulu
Curator Review
Verdict
A bright, crowd-pleasing animated adventure with strong visual energy, catchy music, and enough charm to carry its familiar story. It works best as a family movie or a breezy comfort watch, especially if you like colorful city settings and upbeat, musical comedy.
Best for
families with younger kids
viewers who like musical animation
fans of colorful travel/adventure stories
people wanting an easygoing comfort watch
audiences who enjoy animal-led comedies
Skip if
you want deep emotional complexity
you dislike broad family comedy
you prefer quieter, more character-driven animation
you are looking for something original in plot
Overview
Rio is a glossy, lively studio animation built around motion, color, and easy charm. The flightless-blue-macaw setup gives the story a clean emotional hook, and the movie leans into fish-out-of-water comedy, romantic tension, and chase-movie momentum without ever getting too heavy.
Worth noting
Its biggest strengths are the vibrant Rio de Janeiro backdrop, the musical energy, and the playful chemistry between its leads. The humor is broad but effective, and the film has a relaxed confidence that makes it easy to watch with kids or as a nostalgic rewatch.
Bottom line
It is also fairly predictable, and the emotional beats are simple by design. But if you want a polished, upbeat animated adventure with strong visual personality and a sunny tone, it delivers exactly that.
Top Letterboxd reviews
milo · 4576 likes
they were like we wrote a gay virgin ocd anxiety bird and we know exactly who we need to voice it
🐌 · 4478 likes
“YOU HAD A CRUSH ON WHO?”
me: .....
“SAY IT”
me: ᵗʰᵉ ʸᵉˡˡᵒʷ ᵇᶦʳᵈ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ʳᶦᵒ
benhack (3★) · 2191 likes
Jesse eisenbirb
Jesse eisenbirb
why is will.i.am a bird in brazil
Jesse eisenbirb
Alejandro (3.5★) · 1756 likes
Oh to be an endangered Blue Macaw sipping Hot Chocolate in a bookstore in Minnesota.
Mari (5★) · 1691 likes
I am brazilian and when this came out my family got the bootleg version and watched it once every weekend for six months we stan