Review of Rio

I haven't really done reviews here, but I couldn't really say no to Rio.

After all, I don't know about you, but the main reason I've made kids in the first place was to have an excuse to watch cool kids' movies, and there was absolutely no way I could have watched Rio if I didn't have kids. Here was the masterplan: find a girlfriend, marry her four years later, merely 6 years later have our first kid, and then, 3 years later: Rio!

The review itself is quite meaningless, because the one thing you really need to know is that my kid loved it and I enjoyed watching it too. Still, here are some pros and cons:

Pros

• The movie is fun, funny, and charming. Sure, the plot is a bit on the predictable side and some of the characters seem recycled from other movies, but the main human characters are unique in their nerd-is-cool way, and they're definitely not something you've seen elsewhere. 
• The movie looks great. Between the forests near Rio, to the beaches and the carnival, the movie comes out very vibrant and engaging. 
• Most of the voice-over actors do a great job. Tracy Morgan can't do much wrong as far as I'm concerned. Unlike--
• George Lopez. He reads other people's lines, hence his placement in the Pros section.
• Three days after we watched it, my boy asked me what trust meant. It took me a second to remember, but there is a part in the movie, where the main human character says she's going to trust a local kid. Anything that challenges me to explain abstract terms to my kid deserves to be watched.
• Angry Birds: Rio. The movie comes with a code that lets you play this game (featuring characters and scenes from the movie) for free on your computer. It's already free on phones and tablets, so here you get a visual clue that gives you many hidden game levels.

Cons

• The critics apparently loved Jesse Eisenberg in the main role. His voice does fit with the nerdiness of his character (a bookish, non-flying macaw), but by this point I kind of had enough of his shtick. 
• George Lopez. The fact that this guy who says stay at home dads are unemployed bums gets a job in kids' movies is something I simply don't get.

But like I said, this is all meaningless in the end. The fact that I'm over Jesse Eisenberg or that George Lopez is an ass means nothing to my boy who loved the movie. The fact that the plot and some of the characters are predictable is also meaningless to a child. And although the only reason I made kids is to have an excuse to watch kids' movies, I have to admit that this should all be about my boy. He loved it (and I enjoyed watching it with him), which means the movie is recommended. It's fun, funny, and charming, it looks great, and Tracy Morgan is a drooling bulldog. Enjoy!

---