Rio: It's all about the Samba

What “Rio,” the new animated movie and/or commercial for Brazil’s Ministerio do Turismo, lacks in story or humor, it makes up for in music. When those birds – and a few humans – start shaking their tail feathers, the film soars almost as much as the tourism-friendly hang gliding adventure featured in the second act.

When they did the music, they hired right. Will.i.am and Jamie Foxx voice two hep birds who befriend a lost blue macaw named Blu. Not only do will.i.am and Foxx crack wise every chance they get, they lay down “Hot Wings (I wanna party),” a PG version of a club tune that will get your toes tapping. Brazilian legend Sergio Mendes works in some Samba tunes and – pop! – the whole thing turns into a Carnival party.

Blu, the last male blue macaw in the world, winds up in Minnesota after being birdnapped by smugglers as a chick. Rescued by Linda (voiced by Leslie Mann), he relishes the life of pampered animal companion: cushy pad, lots of books to read, and hot chocolate with just the right number of marshmallows. He has been so comfortable, he never quite got around to learning how to fly.

One day a Brazilian ornithologist comes in from the Minnesota cold. Tulio (voiced by Rodrigo Santoro) explains that he has found the last female of the species. He wants to unite the potential lovebirds and save the species. Off they go to Brazil.

Blu, played slightly more neurotic than your average Woody Allen character by “The Social Network’s” Jessie Eisenberg, thinks this is a bad idea. The female, Jewel (Anne Hathaway), grew up in the wild and has no respect for the comforts of domesticated life. Just as she’s about to bust out of their shared aviary, they’re captured by smugglers who see dollar signs when they look at the rare birds.

As bad guys go, the smugglers aren’t particularly nasty. They’re mostly bumblers distracted by futbol and Carnival, the giant Rio street party that is just ramping up as our story begins. But the smugglers have a cockatoo who has joined the dark side, a piece of work named Nigel (Jermaine Clement) who has some of the best lines in the movie.

Blu and Jewel, aided by a beleaguered family toucan named Rafael (George Lopez) escape and begin their trek through the wild jungles of Rio, both the tree kind and the concrete kind. Blu hopes to find Linda and return to his gilded cage.

The best bits in the film are when the action stops and we all dance. It is Carnival, after all, although a pretty G rated version of it, and music is in the air. The storyline, which we have to admit feels a bit stale, stops and the flick becomes a party as will.i.am warbles some sweet notes.

Rated G, the film doesn’t exactly explain how the two birds will continue the species, but does have a few scenes in which romantic music (ok, Lionel Richie, but whatever) is played to get them in the mood. Besides a few mild plays on words and some gold spandex Carnival costumes, the film stays away from objectionable content.

It also isn’t as funny as it should be. While the sidekicks, including a dog voiced by Tracy Morgan, give a good effort, they’re at most amusing and never quite guffaw-inducing. Blu and Jewel are played straight, with Blu portrayed as nerdy and whiney. I guess neurotic is the new funny.

It won’t matter, however, once the music gets going. Birds dance, birds sing, birds fly in a kaleidoscope of colors.  We see beautiful shots of the beach in Rio, the giant Jesus statue in Rio, and the colorful rainforest in Rio, not to mention fantastic Carnival floats and costumes. In Rio. It’s enough to make you want to go there. Can it be any coincidence that last week’s paper included a full page ad for Brazil?