Rio 2 is a 2014 American 3D computer-animated musical comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios and directed by Carlos Saldanha. It is the sequel to the 2011 computer-animated film Rio. The title refers to the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, where the first film was set and Rio 2 begins, though most of its plot occurs in the Amazon rainforest. The film stars Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, will.i.am, Jamie Foxx, George Lopez, Ttacy Morgan, Jemaine Clement, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro, and Jake T. Austin reprising their roles from the first film with new members including Bruno Mars, Andy Garcia, Rita Moreno, Rachel Crow, Kristen Chenoweth, Amandla Stenberg, Pierce Gagnon, and Miguel Ferrer in his final theatrical film before his death in 2017.
Rio 2 was released internationally on April 4, 2014, and on April 11, 2014, in American theaters by 20th Century Fox. It grossed $498 million worldwide, against a production budget of $103 million, and received mixed reviews from critics, garnering praise for the animation and songs but criticism for the writing. The film was dedicated to the memory of screenwriter Don Rhymer, who died in November 2012.
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Three years after the events of the first movie, Spix's Macaws Blu, Jewel and their three children - Carla, Bia, and Tiago - are living happily in the city but Jewel is disappointed to see her children becoming too domesticated like their father. Meanwhile, Blu's former owner and best friend, Linda Gunderson and her ornithologist husband Tulio are on an expedition in the Amazon and, after a fall down a waterfall, discover a quick-flying Spix's macaw that loses one of its feathers. When word gets out about this through television, Jewel believes that they should go to the Amazon to help find the blue macaws. While the kids are ecstatic, Blu is uncertain, but he is pressured into going along. Blu brings a fanny pack full of supplies, including a GPS, much to Jewel's chagrin.
Meanwhile, the leader of a group of illegal loggers named Big Boss, discovers Linda and Tulio's expedition to find the macaws and orders his henchmen to hunt them down to avoid disruptions to their work. At the same time, the sulphur-crested cockatoo Nigel, (now flightless after the plane crash from the first film), plots to exact revenge on Blu along with his new comrades, an anteater named Charlie and a poison dart frog named Gabi, who is in love with Nigel. After they arrive at the jungle, Blu, his family, and their friends, Rafael the toucan, Pedro the cardinal, and Nico the canary initially find nothing. However, they are eventually taken to a flock of blue macaws that are hiding in an uncharted section of the Amazon. There, Jewel is reunited with her long-lost father, Eduardo, paternal aunt Mimi, and childhood friend, Roberto, whom Blu immediately feels threatened by. Eduardo seems unimpressed with Blu, but expresses gratitude to him over bringing Jewel back home. Having lost their previous habitat to arson from the illegal loggers which also caused Jewel to be separated from the flock, Eduardo is incredibly anti-human, and angrily brushes off Blu's suggestion to expose the sanctuary to Linda and Tulio to ensure their protection. At the same time, Blu grows increasingly jealous of Roberto's bond with Jewel and the kids and quickly feels isolated in the flock.
While searching for the macaws, Linda and Tulio are eventually captured by the loggers. Meanwhile, Blu does his best to fit in with the flock, as his family are doing, but his continued reliance on human tools prevent him from connecting with anyone. Meanwhile, in another attempt to get closer to Blu, Nigel successfully wins a talent show to become a performer for a Carnival show that Rafael, Pedro, Nico and Blu's daughter Carla are hosting. When Blu tries to pick a Brazilian nut for Jewel, he accidentally tries to get it in the territory of the Spix macaw's enemies, the scarlet macaws, led by the hostile Felipe. Blu inadvertently causes war between the two tribes for food when he accidentally swats Felipe with a branch. The war turns out to be a football (soccer) match, but Blu accidentally costs the flock their territory when he scores his team's own goal. He and Jewel argue, with Blu pointing out his inability to fit in and Jewel accusing Blu for only thinking about himself and not seeing how happy being in the jungle makes his family and flies off angrily.
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The Story of Blue Sky Studios
Non-FictionThis is the official background of the well-known Blue Sky Studios, an animation studio known for its Rio and Ice Age franchises. This is being shared here in their memory, due to their being shut down by Disney because of the virus.
