Rio 2 (2014), PG, 2 stars

Blu and Jewel and their child in the Amazon.

The next few years are going to busy years for Rio: The 2014 Fifa World Cup coming this summer. I will not reveal who will be the favorite, though. But, I am excited for that. And also, the Summer Olympics coming in Summer 2016. It is just going to "Carnival!" with much celebration and spectacle. However, we have another sequel about Rio coming out and even though its predecessor was a surprisingly fun and pleasant movie, the movie is great to look at but it is not backed up with an interesting central storyline.

The movie begins with a grand celebration across Rio de Janeiro. Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (Anne Hathaway) are married with three kids, Carla, Bia, and Tiago. They join their friends Raphael (George Lopez), Pedro (will.i.am), and Nico (Jamie Foxx) amidst their celebration. Things go amuck and ridiculously satisfying as the three children tie up Tiny (Kate Micucci), but Blu and Jewel prevent it. Blu accidentally lights up a match and causes the fireworks to ascend and produce a big spectacle in front of Rio.

Blu's owner, Linda (Leslie Mann) and her husband/boyfriend (I don't know), Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro), are sailing on a boat in the jungle to bring back a red bird to its habitat. And while on that journey, a bird drops its feather and Tulio inspects it. It is the bird's feather of a blue macaw.

News swarms in as they both discovered that there are more blue macaws in the jungle. Jewel feels that that she and Blu and their family should travel to Amazon since Blu has domesticated their children all their lives. As they arrived in the jungle a little later, they meet Eduardo (Andy Garcia), Jewel's father who shares a tearful reunion with his long-lost daughter. However, he is a bit skeptical of Blu. So, will Blu ever adapt to their natural habit or force his family to go back home?

All the birds and Luis having a little talk.

This movie is a labored animated festival that could nuance little children to be occupied in their seats. So, it is fine for the little children. However, the movie does not take off. I mean, we are introduced to the characters and then we see the habitat and Jewel reunites with her family. That's basically it as Blu tries to get accustomed to the lifestyle. The movie just turns into a conventional family comedy. Also, there is an uninteresting subplot surrounding the environment as Linda and Tulio prevents some loggers to chop down the trees. It's just fluff to kill time.

Jesse Eisenberg just provides his own voice as his own self, not producing any different interest to the lead character. His vulnerability and selfishness is just always there for the whole movie. The two plots are not worth caring. But I was amused to see Nigel (Jermaine Clement) again in his devilish ways as a flightless market bird with Gabi (Kristin Chenoweth), the poisonous frog and Charlie the anteater. He vows for revenge against Blu who cost him his wings in the first movie. The most refreshing moment is when Gabi sings a song about her falling in love with Nigel, but she cannot touch him because she is poisonous. That's the only original moment of the movie.

Again, little kids will be entertained by this whole movie. It will be a "visual babysitter". However, this movie is just broad and just made to make more money for Blue Sky Studios. Sometimes, success gets in the studio executives' heads and they want to make another sequel. This movie just does not cut it. It is fun in the visual sense, but in a narrative sense, the movie is stock and vacuous. I do not think I will remember this experience later in the year. Pity.

**