Rio 2011

Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: It's an intermittently charming... tale with some (and I do mean some) engaging voice work and many nifty if not staggeringly ingenious bits of action business. Read more

Andy Webster, New York Times: As kids' movies go, "Rio" brings a lot to the party. Read more

Ben Kenigsberg, Time Out: Compared to Pixar's Up, a much more organic and heartfelt story about making friends in far-flung places, Rio simply feels rote. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: There are worse things than a movie that can't stop moving. Read more

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: "Rio" is strong on relationships, visually novel, full of fresh ideas and featuring a few vocal actors you might not have expected to be part of the fun. Read more

Tasha Robinson, AV Club: In an era where Pixar is constantly trying to better itself and other CGI studios are working to not merely imitate it, but to surpass it, it's vaguely grating to sit through another formulaic, paint-by-numbers effort from Fox Animation. Read more

Randy Cordova, Arizona Republic: Some live-action films set in exotic locales can be so atmospheric and picturesque that viewers walk away feeling as if they've taken a short vacation. "Rio" accomplishes this feat, which must be a minor miracle for an animated movie. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: The director, Carlos Saldanha, collaborated on the "Ice Age" trilogy. What he has developed here has tons of atmosphere and, less helpfully, tons of over-plotted chaos disguised as a story. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: The humor's a little strange, and the action's a little frenetic, but all of it whooshes past in a swirl of tropical color and pseudo-South American bonhomie. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: Nothing deep or heavy here -- just a good time and a pleasurable escape. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Rio will not set your heart afire, although its low-level consciousness raising about illegally smuggled animals is nice. Mostly, it's brightly colored fluff, but then, it's supposed to be. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Rio is less a Pixar-level pleasure than a busy, frantic, and overstuffed dessert of a movie. There's scarcely a moment that isn't straining to entertain you. Read more

Laremy Legel, Film.com: A fairly typical children's movie, but at least it moves along with purpose! Read more

Megan Lehmann, Hollywood Reporter: A tropical-colored wingding that will have kids and their chaperones shaking a tail feather to its pulsating Latin beats. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: More things work than not in this sweetened sweet bird of youth. Maybe the G is for good fun or great music or a gentle good time. Read more

Scott Tobias, NPR: Expect the expected. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Eisenberg's tremulous, earnest delivery matches Blu's big worrywart eyes perfectly, and he and Hathaway, to their credit, give it their all. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: I have a feeling that older audience members will, like me, be getting restless during this celebrity-voice-driven, generically plotted variation on "Madagascar." Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: Storks samba! Toucans tumba! Parrots party in kaleidoscopic formations to the music of Sergio Mendes! Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: The only thing surprising about this lackluster animated production is that it attracted an A-list voice cast. But that's how things are today when even mediocre animation can be a big draw. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Rio is a brightly-colored, dizzying pinwheel of 3D animation in which nothing much happens. Sounds like summer is here early. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Although the road to "Rio" was paved with good intentions, this 'toon never truly takes flight. Read more

Nell Minow, Chicago Sun-Times: Buoyed by local color - literally, with a vibrantly sun-drenched palette, a sensationally festive Carnival parade, and a slinky samba-licious soundtrack Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: The generic story elements can't spoil the real achievement of Rio, which is a series of vividly choreographed set-pieces. Read more

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: Here is a splashy display of the innocent, artful exuberance that, these days, the directors of live-action films have left to the guys with pixels. Read more

Derek Adams, Time Out: 'Rio' isn't totally devoid of merit - it could just do with a lot more zip and zing in its tail feathers. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: For its stunning iridescent look and infectious music, Rio is a refreshing adventure worth taking. Read more

Leslie Felperin, Variety: Like its flight-challenged parrot protagonist, Rio takes a while to get off the ground but manages to soar by the end. Read more

Nick Schager, Village Voice: Too timid to be either inspired or outrageously inept, Rio is merely a bird of a familiar feather. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: This is a movie that takes even the hoariest quest-peril-life lesson tropes of family animated films and imbues them with new life and rhythm. Read more