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The movie Rio is the tale of Blu, the last male blue macaw, who is discovered living in Minnesota. The Brazillian naturalist finds Blu and his owner and convinces both to come to Rio de Janeiro so Blu can hook up with a female blue macaw, named Jewel. Jewel is less than thrilled with Blu's arrival and she tries to escape. In the meantime, an evil parrot poacher gets into the aviary and steals Blu and Jewel. We are introduced to Nigel, the evil cockatoo, who works with the poachers. Chained together, Blu and Jewel escape and Jewel discovers that Blu cannot fly. Hi-jinks ensue, in the backdrop of Carnival in Rio.
Eventually, all the issues are resolved, and we have a happy ending, which is very satisfying. I cried at the end. If anyone can do a heartwarming ending, it's the Ice Age guys.
The animation of the parrots is absolutely brilliant. I have been fortunate to see parrots and macaws in the wild flying, and the animators caught it, really captured exactly how they fly. In fact, they captured how parrots walk, too. During Blu's and Jewel's visit to the bird nightclub, the two of them dance. Blu drops his wings backwards, fans them and struts, like a real hormonal male parrot. I can't say enough about the animation.
I liked the soundtrack of the movie so much, I bought it. I love Latin rhythms.
The story of Blu is based very loosely on Presley, the rare Spix macaw that was discovered living in Colorado a few years back, and yes, he went to Brazil to a breeding program. You can read the story here if you are interested:
http://www.parrots.org/index.php/presskit/spix_macaw_return/
* Now the editor gets on her soap box *
This movie does not portray parrots accurately. You cannot open a window and let your bird fly out to live on his or her own, the bird will die, because he or she has been raised in captivity and likes all the foods that you do. They aren't like cats, if they fly out the window, they will not know where they live and fly home eventually. Parrots are noisy, messy and they bite you, even if they like you. They live a very VERY long time, depending on the parrot, usually anywhere from 40-100 years, so you must have plans for your bird when you are not around any more. Pet birds need toys to entertain them, large cages to live in and a varied healthy diet. They need regular veterinary care. None of this is cheap. They also cannot live in their cages 24/7. They like to come out and hang around with the family, which is their flock. Unless you want bird poop all over your furniture, you will have to buy a parrot playstand.
So, why would anyone want a pet bird? If they love you, they really love you, and a lot of them do talk and some actually sing. Some of them can be taught tricks. Each bird is an individual and each has a different skill set. They are colorful and they all have a sense of humor. You might not always like their sense of humor, but they have one. And yes, they are very bright, most act like perpetual 3 year olds, and there are times they will outsmart you.
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