Fox is delivering the Blu-ray version of the animated “Rio” today (Aug. 2) without two of the best elements of the theatrical version, the 3D (coming to Blu-ray 3D Aug. 30) and the latest hilarious and clever short depicting the nut-chasing Scrat of “Ice Age” in the new “Continental Crack-Up.”
Nevertheless, the extremely vivid HiDef images of the Bu-ray almost feel like 3D.
And the bonus features go a long way to making up for the loss of the Ice Age short, with a fun collection of bonus features:
- fascinating pieces by the filmmakers about shooting in Rio
- interactive option to explore Rio on your own.
- unique exclusive access to unlock never-before-played bonus levels of the inexplicably popular phone app game called Angry Birds
- “Rio Coloring with Blu” app that lets users color their favorite characters and backgrounds on their iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Android. Their finished art can then be printed out using AirPrint or shared on Facebook and other social networking sites.
This is the story of an endangered young pet bird called Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) — only coincidence that it is spelled the same as Blu-ray? — who lives with a young lady in frozen Minnesota, is forced to adjust to life when he is taken to Brazil to find a mate and save his species.
The movie gets off to a very colorful, lively, and engaging start but winds up being a cute but not dynamic story with nice music by Sergio Mendes, who hit it big 45 years ago with his “Brasil ’66” album.
The animation, humor, music, and overall entertainment come off pretty well. But it does none of those things extremely well except, perhaps, for the computer animation. The humor may make you smerk but never laugh out loud or remember any lines.
Still, compared to most fare this year, “Rio” is a delightful diversion.
— By Scott Hettrick
i don’t know much about the 3d technology, but i’ve seen rio in 3d and it was almost like just watching it in 2d.