Czarine wrote:
Also, there's been no released material of Newt as far as I know, so you can't really tell whether they are or aren't very similar.
The only material available is the concept art gallery on Pixar's facebook page. As far as specific plot details, all we know is that the basic concept of the film was that the two animals were the last of their species, but didn't initially get along with each other. We may not know enough about Newt to know if either film is a "rip-off" of the other, but there are obvious similarities.
Oh, and when EricJ mentioned "filming" I pretty sure he was just referring to the production of the film. Most of us here have a basic knowledge of how animation works.
Love he designs on he birds. Very beautiful backgrounds. One can only hope the rest of he film is as good as this. If it is...oh boy will Pixar have competition then
I love all things cinema, from silent movies to world cinema to animated cinema to big blockbusters to documentaries and everything in between!
Well, the news is looking good for Rio so far; eight reviews on RT and all of them positive. The gist of what they're saying at this point is that it's fun, but a very "safe" film with nothing really new or groundbreaking. I wasn't really that interested in the movie from the trailers, but maybe I'll catch it later on if the buzz stays this positive.
Saw this today in a packed theatre, and I'm sorry to say it was a disappointment (for me anyway). It wasn't a bad film, but it could've been a GREAT film. There was SO much potential.
Instead we get a plot that's annoyingly predictable, lots and lots of expository dialogue, plenty of unfunny pop-culture jokes, a villain that starts off as a cool character but stops being cool once he starts singing, and... will.i.am, as....... a very annoying character...
I will say that the animation was very pretty to look at, and the music was also good (with the exceptions of the villain's song and the one by will.i.am).
I REALLY wanted to like this movie more than I did.
My thoughts are on cartoonbrew under the talkback section. Just look for Some girl.
It seems to be a hit and miss for some. I was trying not to go with not high expectations (as everyhone should these days) due to coming out dissapointed . If you do, you will always be dissapointed.
Anyway, It isn't a great film, but it was a highly enjoyable film for me. The script could need alot of work, but the animation was eye-candy and the music was very "get up out of your seat and dance" able. This is by means defintely no Pixar film if you want to compare it that way, but as a whole, I left with a smile on my face despite it's flaws. Ben, go see it and see for yourself. Would like to know what you think when you get back. There is only one way to find out.
I am defintely going to get it on DVD. Not to mention the soundtrack. I could hear John Powell all over the music, and I didn't even know it was him , until my sis told me. Hah.
Good point. It was fun to watch overall. Like I said, it wasn't a bad film. It did have its moments. I really liked most of the character designs, and the scenery was gorgeous. I'm also a sucker for movies about people and their pets (the relationship between Blu and his owner was pretty sweet).
It just makes me really angry when I see a movie that isn't great, but could've been, with a little more effort.
Last edited by Whippet Angel on April 17th, 2011, 3:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
I went into this expecting to completely love it, which may explain why I was kinda dissapointed by it. Like others have said, it's not a "bad" film, but...
I thought that it actually got off to an extremely strong start. The opening sequence in Rio blew me away, and the one that followed effectively set up the relationship between Blu and his owner. Like Blu, she herself is more comfortable with captivity, choosing to interact with her pet bird more than she interacts with actual human beings. Add to that that they can't "talk" with each other, which made these scenes all the stronger.
Funnily enough, it was when the story kicked into gear with Blu and Jewel getting bird-napped that it started to fall apart for me. Was it just me, or did the bird smugglers come dangerously close to being ethnic stereotypes? I won't lie and say that they weren't kinda amusing, but the fact that the lead guy even had dreadlocks made things a little uncomfortable. I also found the fact that the "good" white characters were mistrusting of a boy of another color to be a little...odd. I know that they weren't intending to make them appear to be "racist" or anything like that, but it still struck me as unusual that they even had that in the movie in the first place.
And then there was the evil cockatoo. I thought that this character was going to be a hoot, and in a way he was, but perhaps he could've been more of one if the writers had actually played with his backstory more. I loved that he hated pretty birds because he was replaced by one on a TV show, but this was mentioned so quickly that it didn't really register. And his song was so short that it really didn't leave much of an impact at all.
Actually, most of the songs are like that. The thing about "Rio" that I was looking forward to the most ended up being the most dissapointing, in that all of the songs here are literally only about a minute long. And most of them end very abruptly, either interupted by a joke or a villain popping in. It's almost as if the producers were afraid that audiences wouldn't go for a musical, which is why they wanted to make the musical numbers as short as possible. But funnily enough, that's one of the things that they've been marketing the most about this film!
And then there was the story, which ended up repeating itself over and over again. The characters wander around the jungle, run into an obstacle, and then overcome with little or no trouble, with one of the pointing out every other minute it seems that Blu can't fly. Now, I know that we all walk into animated movies knowing that there will probably be a happy ending, but it would be nice if "Rio" could've created a little tension in that regard. Everything was so by the numbers here that the instant that Jewel and Blu parted ways in a huff, I knew that Jewel would get kidnapped, leading once again to the tired formula of the hero needing to rescue the heroine. Granted, that can sometimes work if done right, but here it felt like it was being done just because it had been done many times before.
Eisenberg just distracted me. It wasn't that he was bad or anything, but I just couldn't get "The Social Network" out of my head whenever he spoke. And this comes from someone who normally never gets that way about celebrity voices, and actually even enjoys them most of the time. I mean, it's not like I had any problems with Hathaway, who has done animation before and sounds natural (plus, she gets to sing a little, which is nice because she is very good at that). How come I had a problem with Eisenberg and not her?
I feel like I'm possibly being a little too negative here. As others have pointed out, the animation is really great. Blue Sky always has awesome visuals, and since "Rio" is their first CinemaScope feature, the colors sometimes seem to burst off the screen. The biggest treat was probably the parade, which featured huge crowds and had real "scope" to it, especially in 3-D.
I may like this movie more with a second viewing, when my expectations have been rightfully lowered. As others have said, it is enjoyable in its own right. But like its main character, I felt that it was content staying where it was, constantly getting its feet off the ground but rarely being able to achieve true flight.
Last edited by Dacey on April 18th, 2011, 6:35 pm, edited 2 times in total.
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift--that is why it's called the present."
I wish the movie had ended after "The end" and didn't include the after credits stuff.
Also, movie makers. I understand the Dory trying to speak whale scene was hilarious, but please stop trying to make your own versions of it. It just never works. (also the forced romance between Linda and the bird guy was horrible)
I quite liked the movie, but it had potential that just wasn't met.
Of course, I didn't go into the movie expecting anything other than "just okay" so I wasn't let down by it.
And then there was the evil cockatoo. I thought that this character was going to be a hoot, and in a way he was, but perhaps he could've been more of one if the writers have actually played with his backstory more. I loved that he hated pretty birds because he was replaced by one on a TV show, but this was mentioned so quickly that it didn't really register. And his song was so short that it really didn't leave much of an impact at all.
I was thinking the exact same thing Dacey. He started off as an interesting character, and I liked the idea of him hating pretty birds so much that he wanted to "make them ugly too." This could've made for some interesting tension in the story. Instead, he just tells us his backstory very matter-of-factly, and spends the rest of the movie playing his role as the "bad guy." Arg, there was just SO MUCH for the writers to play with here!
I also think I would've liked this movie more if will.i.am had nothing to do with it. Did I mention how much I hated this character?
