Movie Title: River
Classification: G
Director: Carlos Saldanha
Starring: Voices of; Jessie Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro, George Lopez, Jamie Foxx, Will.i.am, Tracy Morgan, and Jemaine Clement
Category: Animation, Family, Comedy

Faith Moms Rating: 10 out of 10

Intro: Rio is a strikingly original animated children’s film that the whole family can enjoy.

Review: First, I have to say, I LOVED this movie. She catapulted herself into one of my best family movies. It has everything a mom wants to see in a movie that her children will see. There’s a strong sense of loyalty, friendship, acceptance, and we see the main character, Blu (Jessie Eisenberg) overcome a very powerful fear in her life.

Without giving too much away, the movie revolves around Blu. He is a macaw who was taken from the wild as a baby and raised in Minnesota, a far cry from the tropics! LOL! However, he is not deprived of love and happiness in his unlikely environment. However, everything turns upside down when Blu has to take a trip to Rio to save the species from him! No pressure! From the moment he arrives, his life changes forever. He learns a lot, overcomes obstacles and falls in love.

Rio is not just about Blu. The supporting characters are a big part of the success of this movie. From father figure Rafael (George Lopez) to comedic duo Nico (Jamie Foxx) and Pedro (Will.i.am)-HILARIOUS. Of course, there are some human characters that are also prominent. Oh, and we can’t forget the “bad boy”, Nigel (Jemaine Clement), an angry and bitter cockatoo.

There were a lot of positive elements in this movie, not just what I mentioned before.

A few others that stood out to me were…

Rafael tells Blu that Carnival is not as attractive as his wife and children. His family is his priority and it is played in a GOOD way, not like he is “tied up”. (I love this! Great message!)

Blu sacrifices his safety and overcomes a great fear in his life to save his jewel of love (Anne Hathaway).
When a group of bad guys (the monkey mob) come to take Blu and Jewel away, their new friends band together to protect them.

The boy’s character, Fernando, starts out as one of the “bad guys” in the film, however, he ends up confessing a sin he committed and works to rectify his mistake.

On the downside: There aren’t too many, but there are a few that need to be mentioned. First, there’s some petty humor, nothing outrageous, but no less. The film takes place in Rio during Carnival, so there are a lot of scantily clad women (on the beach too), and we see at least one man dressed in women’s clothing. Blu and Jewel fall from the sky and land on the butt of a woman in a bikini. A few other things that stood out are; a dance guy who shakes the booty slightly, the head monkey reacts a bit questionably when a phone call vibrates under him, there are robberies in the movie, bad guys do bad deeds and there is a battle scene between the monkeys and the birds.

Another thing that can scare younger viewers is Nigel, the main bad guy. He is not very friendly, in fact he is ruthless. He even has his “bad boy” song (which my husband thought was funny).

While nothing is “over the top,” there are some areas you’ll want to use as an opportunity to talk to your kids.

Conclusion: Overall, I loved Rio and didn’t find any of the negatives to overshadow the positive elements of the film. The movie is fun, full of great lesson opportunities, and a sure winner in my book!