It seems that all that comes out of the movie industry these days are sequels to popular movies with the new Blue Sky production ‘Rio 2’ being no different.  Although this sequel is actually one worth watching; there are no obnoxious cast changes or continuity errors. All of the main characters are voiced by the same people, and all the details from the first movie flow easily into the second one.

If it is to be remembered correctly, the first movie, ‘Rio’, ended with the implication that Blu and Jewel live happily ever after with their three kids. ‘Rio 2’ does an excellent job of picking up where ‘Rio’ left off by entering the present day lives of the beloved blue macaws. They appear content and happy while living cautiously to protect what they believe is the last of their kind. This belief changes when their owners Linda and Tulio discover what they think could possibly be a flock of blue macaws living in the rainforest.

Packing themselves up, Blu and Jewel take their family and a few of their close friends to the rainforest to help Linda and Tulio. They arrive only to discover more blue macaws than they ever could have imagined. The rest of the movie follows the experiences gained by staying with their kind in the wild.

The movie is guaranteed to make most people laugh and smile, but some might find it slightly disappointing. The first one consisted of fun music and scenes that contained much of Brazilian dance and culture. “Rio 2” seemed to be an attempt to mix traditional samba with modern pop music for something different. This did not fit the movie as well as it could have; a major disappointment considering one of the ‘new’ and ‘fun’ things in the movie was supposed to be the music, according to an interview shown a couple weeks before it was released.

Another thing, if one would think back to when audiences were first introduced to Blu, he was removed from his home by illegal smuggling and sent to Minnesota, where he met Linda. This sequel highlights another evil act, this time, illegal deforestation and it is up to the trusty birds and their loyal owners to save the day. While continuing to promote saving the environment is not a bad thing, another movie that portrays humans in a negative light is getting a little old.  People are tired of seeing the same old story of animals trying to deal with the goals of humans oblivious to the animals’ needs that always ends with the animals and the ‘good’ humans miraculously teaming up against the evildoers to save the day. No one is defending illegal smuggling or deforestation, but it’s just something some people wish the movie industry would think about.

All in all, ‘Rio 2’ is not a bad movie. It is rather a good movie that is definitely worth taking young children to go see if any high schoolers wish to take younger siblings or those kids you’re supposed to be babysitting to in order to keep them entertained for an hour and 41 minutes