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Blu-ray Review: RIO 2

Jul 15, 2014 Posted by in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

Everyone’s favorite blue Spix macaw couple is back for another fun adventure. Some time has passed since the events of the first film, and now Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (Anne Hathaway) have three children—Carla (Rachel Crow) the music-lover, Tiago the ruffian, and Bia the bookworm. Linda (Leslie Mann) and Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro) are also married, and off on an adventure in the Amazon.

Jewel is afraid that her family is becoming too dependent on human technology, so when she sees a TV news report that Linda and Tulio may have found another blue macaw, she convinces a reluctant Blu and the kids to go on a vacation to the Amazon to check it out. Rafael (George Lopez) joins them on the adventure, along with Pedro (will.i.am) and Nico (Jamie Foxx), who want to use the trip to scout for new talent to bring back for Carnivale.

When the gang arrives in Rio, they soon discover that Jewel’s family and friends had relocated here, and that their new home is being threatened by loggers. Blu now finds himself not only out of his element, but also face-to-face with Jewel’s tough-to-please father Eduardo (Andy García), her aunt Mimi (Rita Moreno) and her suave childhood friend Roberto (Bruno Mars). Plus, old nemesis Nigel (Jemaine Clement) has been secretly tracking Blu, plotting to kill him.

 

Rio 2 is not only an excellent sequel, but a great movie of its own. It takes the fun characters and elements of the first film, and allows them to grow and shine. I really enjoyed the premise of the film, and the dialogue was witty and humorous. And this time around, the music has been expanded and becomes a character in itself—there are some really fantastic musical performances in this film!

While it was great to see the fun returning characters again, some of the new characters added this time around may just be my favorite of the franchise. Kristin Chenoweth is utterly delightful as Nigel’s sidekick Gabi, a poison dart frog. She is in love with Nigel, but can’t touch him for fear that she will kill him. Gabi’s love song to Nigel, “Poisonous Love”, is both beautiful and hilarious, and sounds like something you would hear on a Broadway stage or in a Disney musical.

Another fun new character is the suave Roberto, whose dashing good looks and amazing singing instantly make Blu feel threatened. And it was great to see the father/daughter and father/son-in-law relationships explored through new character Eduardo.

This Blu-ray looks and sounds amazing. The picture quality is always crisp and detailed, and captures the beauty of and excitement of Rio as well as the breathtaking tranquility of the rainforests of the Amazon. The audio presentation immerses the viewer into both of these worlds, and brings the amazing musical performances to life.

This Blu-ray is also loaded with bonus features, including a deleted scene, some bonus footage, several featuerettes about the music of the film, interviews with all of the talented voice cast, a music video, and a photo gallery. Plus there are ways for viewers to sing and dance along to all of the great music from the film. And included with the sneak peeks is a hilarious animated short related to the upcoming film Home.

This Blu-ray Combo pack also includes a DVD of the film as well as iTunes and UltraViolet DigitalHD copies. Fox has also released this title in a “Deluxe Edition” which includes an additional disc with a 3D version of the film—if you have 3D support at home, that is definitely the version to pick up as there are several scenes that seem geared towards 3D pop-out fun!

With lots of humor, action and wonderful music, Rio 2 comes highly recommended for both fans of the first film and new viewers alike.



What’s Included:

Film: (1:41:11)

    Blu-ray:

    • 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
    • Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1, Bulgarian Dolby Digital 5.1, Croatian Dolby Digital 5.1, Greek Dolby Digital 5.1, Romanian Dolby Digital 5.1, Serbian Dolby Digital 5.1, Slovenian Dolby Digital 5.1, Turkish Dolby Digital 5.1
    • Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, Portuguese, Bulgarian, Croatian, Greek, Romanian, Serbian, Slovenian, Turkish

    DVD:

    • 480p / Widescreen 2.40:1
    • Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Surround Dolby Digital 2.0, French Surround Dolby Digital 2.0, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1
    • Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, Portuguese

    Digital Copy (Redemption Deadline 7/15/2017):

    • iTunes Digital Copy
    • UltraViolet DigitalHD Copy redeemable via Flixster, Google Play or Vudu

Extras (Blu-ray Only):

  • Rio Refresher (3:21)
    A nice recap of the major events of the first film, cut together into a 3 minute trailer/refresher.
  • Deleted Scene – “Practice” (:39)
    A short deleted scene of Nigel (aka “Bob”) practicing for his audition.
  • Boom, Shake, Snap: The Local Sounds of Brazil (19:28)
    Director Carlos Saldanha and executive music producer Sergio Mendes take a look at the music used in the film. Play All or select from:
    • “The Bodybeats of the Barbatuques” – A look at the Barbatuques, who make music just with their bodies and without any instruments. Watch them perform their song from the film, “Beautiful Creatures”.
    • “How to Play the Barbatuques Way!” – The Barbatuques teach viewers how to make music the way they do.
    • “Rhythmic Rio” – A look at percussionist Carlinhos Brown, who returned for the second film, and footage of him recording music for the film
    • “The Upbeat Uakti Jam” – A look at Uakti, a group of musicians who make their own instruments. Musician Artur Andrés Ribeiro describes the unique instruments they have created and talks about what it was like working on the film.
  • Birds and Beats: The Singing Talents of Rio 2 (10:19)
    The cast and creators talk about the music of the film—includes interviews with director Carlos Saldanha, musician Janelle Monáe, and cast members will.i.am (“Pedro”), Anne Hathaway (“Jewel”), Jamie Foxx (“Nico”), Rachel Crow (“Carla”), Bruno Mars (“Roberto”), Philip Lawrence (“Felipe”/songwriter), Jemaine Clement (“Nigel”), Kristin Chenoweth (“Gabi”), Amy Heidemann from Karmin (“Rapping Sloth”), and Andy Garcia (“Eduardo”).
  • Nigel the Shakespearean Cockatoo and Friends (7:17)
    Director Carlos Saldanha gives a tour of the Blue Sky production studio. Lluis Llovera (the lead animator for the character of Nigel) and actor Jemaine Clement (the voice of “Nigel”) talk about the character of Nigel, while other animators talk about some of their other favorite characters from the Amazon. Also includes footage of the animators doing reference dance footage for some of the musical sequences.
  • Music, Dance, Sing-Along Machine
    • Music Machine (19:46)
      Watch the musical sequences from the film. Play All or select from “What Is Love”, “Ô Vida”, “Poisonous Love”, “Welcome Back”, “Beautiful Creatures”, “Don’t Go Away”, “It’s a Jungle Out Here”, “I Will Survive” , “Bola Viva” and “Batucada Family”.

    • Dance-Along (7:33)
      Character cutouts in the corner of the screen show you the proper dance moves to do while watching selected musical sequences from the film. Play All or select from “What Is Love”, “Ô Vida”, “Beautiful Creatures”, and “It’s a Jungle Out Here”

    • Sing-Along (9:38)
      Sing along with selected musical sequences from the film by following the lyrics at the bottom of the screen. Play All or select from “What Is Love”, “Welcome Back”, “Beautiful Creatures”, “Don’t Go Away”, “It’s a Jungle Out Here” and “I Will Survive”.
  • You Be the Judge (1:49)
    Watch some fun animal “talent” auditions being judged by Blu, Pedro and Nigel. Play All or select from “Tapir Audition”, “Monkey Audition” and “Turtle Audition”
  • “What is Love?” by Janelle Monáe (1:37)
    This music video features characters from the film.
  • Still Gallery (2:38)
    A nice collection of concept art and production stills. Step through each photo in the gallery using the remote, or let it auto-advance every five seconds.
  • Theatrical Trailers (4:51)
    Play All or select from Theatrical Trailer 1 and Theatrical Trailer 2.
  • “I Will Survive” Multi-Language Sequence (1:58)
    As the sequence from the film in which Nigel performs “I Will Survive” plays, the language switches between English, German, Spanish, Italian, Hindi, French, Chinese (Mandarin), Portuguese, Korean, and Russian.
  • Sneak Peek (9:18)
    Play All or select from trailers for Peanuts, The Book of Life, “Almost Home” Teaser Short, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Protect The Macaws, and Dragons: Riders of Berk Franchise

 


Final Thoughts:

My Rating
Film:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Highly Recommended

Rio 2 is even better than the original film, with even more action, laughs, music and heart. All your favorite characters are back, along with new ones you will instantly love! The Blu-ray presentation is top notch, with stellar picture and sound quality, and a disc that’s loaded with some great bonus features. This title is definitely worth adding to your collection, for kids and adults alike.