(Originally published on Letterboxd on Feb 11, 2014) - I didn't know what to expect from Rio. The trailers didn't look very appealing, and the cheap Angry Birds tie in only made me suspicious. So I was pretty surprised to find this little fish out of water tale to be pretty danged delightful.
The voice work is solid from all involved, with the big standout being Jemaine Clement's evil cannibalistic ex-show bird, Nigel. He just oozes sleaze, but with enough charisma to keep you engaged. Jesse Eisenberg's neurotic delivery is pitch perfect for the misplaced ground dwelling Blu. Everyone else is satisfactory. Even Will.I.Am is tolerable, which is something I never thought I'd say.