Rio
Release Date:
April 15, 2011
On the Big Board |
Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
17/171 |
Max Braden |
The sound in this movie is excellent. |
Although the profits of the third film show that they can rely on Ice Age for eternity, Blue Sky Studios at least follows a pattern, by releasing something original after every Ice Age film. Their next potential Shrek killing franchise is Rio.
The main character of Rio is a nerdy macaw. The decision to use a macaw must have come about because they haven’t had the chance to be misrepresented in film before - though animating a nerdy one means that this might not be the role model for all macaws to look up to. However, this one leaves his cage in Minnesota and finds adventure in Rio de Janeiro, meeting other birds.
Director Carlos Saldanha previously co-directed the Ice Age trilogy and Robots. Given that he was brought up in Rio de Janeiro, the film could be his love letter to the city. He’ll be working from a script by Don Rhymer, who rather worryingly achieved his biggest hits as a co-writer on Big Momma’s House and its sequel.
There’s little to go on with the briefest of story details, though Saldanha has let slip that it’ll be a mix of music and comedy and that the story will take place during the Rio de Janeiro carnival.
Each of Blue Sky’s films has managed to pull in over $250 million worldwide. Rio is certain to perform similarly, even if a nerdy macaw doesn’t have quite the audience pulling power, but the potential for comedy is definitely there. (Shalimar Sahota/BOP)