There are those animated films that not only deserve a sequel, they demand it. Disney’s Pixar’s Oscar-winning blockbuster The Incredibles comes to mind. (Fortunately, the studio and the film’s creators have finally come up with an idea for a follow-up, and that long-simmering project is finally in development. Yay!)
Then there are those animated films that seem less worthy of “sequelization,” yet they’re either consigned or possibly obligated to have a successor. Fox/Blue Sky’s Rio 2 would definitely be the example there. It’s a follow-up to the 2011 animated feature, a modestly charming, cartoon comedy-musical that was made but soon forgotten.
Unfortunately, little to no effort seems to have gone into this unimaginatively titled sequel’s creation, save for the handsome, digitally rendered animation (animation house Blue Sky is always good for that), as well as a few of the songs. (Boo!)
Worse still, the plot – well, the main story line at least – borrows very heavily from some of Ben Stiller’s live-action hits, in particular a trio of comedies that, like this would-be “series,” also got progressively worse and more crass as the follow-up films were churned out in assembly line fashion. But we’ll get back to that later.
Rio 2 picks up the story sometime after the first film’s conclusion. Endangered blue macaws Blu and Jewel (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway) are now living in a bird sanctuary in Rio de Janeiro, where they’re experiencing domestic bliss – if such a thing is even possible with three children. (Rachel Crow, Pierce Gagnon and Amandla Stenberg voice this irksome trio.)
But their seemingly idyllic existence ends when their human scientist friends Tulio and Linda (Rodrigo Santoro and Leslie Mann) discover there are other blue macaws living in the Amazon rain forest. Jewel, who’s getting bored with domesticity, heads to the Amazon to see for herself, taking the kids and a reluctant Blu along for the flight.
And it appears Tulio and Linda are correct. Jewel is re-united with her long-missing father, Eduardo (the voice of Andy Garcia), who’s leading a group of fellow macaws, and who clearly disapproves of Blu, whom he sees as a human “pet.” Meanwhile, Jewel’s childhood friend, Roberto (Bruno Mars), seems all too eager to pick up where the two of them left off years earlier.
Sound familiar? The Garcia character even looks a little bit like Robert De Niro. And the Mars character has some similarities with one played by Owen Wilson. Meet the Parents – or perhaps Meet the Parrots, anyone?
If the shameless swiping from the Fockers movies wasn’t bad enough, there’s also some nonsense about a scientist duo running afoul of greedy loggers. Meanwhile, Blu’s old nemesis, megalomaniacal cockatoo Nigel (Jemaine Clement), may have lost his ability to fly, but he hasn’t forgotten about Blu. He’s also headed to the Amazon to exact some revenge on the unsuspecting macaw, with help from an anteater (thankfully mute), and the love-struck Gabi (a poisonous toad who’s voiced by Kristin Chenoweth).
To be fair, it’s not completely worthless, unlike January’s wretched cartoon feature The Nut Job. The Blue Sky animators (also responsible for the Ice Age movies) have some fun with the jungle surroundings and character designs, and the soundtrack features music by Sergio Mendes, Mars and others.
However, most if not all of the jokes and gags are awful, and the whole thing is overstuffed with go-nowhere subplots and pointless character moments. (There’s no reason for the characters voiced by George Lopez, will.i.am and Tracy Morgan to return here, unless they were contractually obligated to appear in the film.)
Even Clement’s amusing Nigel seems like a plotting afterthought, though he does get the film’s best moment, with a Flight of the Conchords-like cover of “I Will Survive.” (He was used better and to more amusing effect in a supporting role for the recent Muppets Most Wanted.)
Jeff Michael Vice can also be heard reviewing films, television programs, comics, books, music and other things as part of The Geek Show Podcast (www.thegeekshowpodcast.com), and can be seen reviewing films as part of Xfinity’s Big Movie Mouth-Off (www.facebook.com/BigMovieMouthOff).