Rio

Directed by Carlos Saldanha, Rio follows a timid macaw (Jesse Eisenberg’s Blu) as he’s taken by his owner (Leslie Mann’s Linda) to the title country to mate with a fellow macaw named Jewel (Anne Hathaway) – with complications ensuing after the two birds are kidnapped by a gang of smugglers. It’s pleasant subject matter that’s employed to propulsive, mostly engaging effect by Saldanha, as the filmmaker, armed with Don Rhymer, Joshua Sternin, Jeffrey Ventimilia, and Sam Harper’s script, delivers a colorful comedy that benefits from its eye-popping visuals and raft of appealing characters – with, in terms of the latter, Saldanha eliciting solid work from his stars and various periphery players. And while the whole thing is perhaps just a little too lighthearted for its own good, Rio, buoyed by several legitimately exciting sequences and digressions, ultimately confirms its place as a better-than-anticipated animated endeavor that holds appeal for viewers young and old alike.

*** out of ****