Rio (2011 film)

Rio
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Carlos Saldanha
Screenplay by	Don Rhymer Joshua Sternin Jennifer Ventimilia[a] Sam Harper
Story by	Carlos Saldanha Earl Richey Jones Todd Jones
Produced by	Bruce Anderson John C. Donkin
Starring	Anne Hathaway Jesse Eisenberg Jemaine Clement Leslie Mann George Lopez Jamie Foxx
Cinematography	Renato Falcão
Edited by	Harry Hitner
Music by	John Powell
Production companies	Blue Sky Studios 20th Century Fox Animation
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	March 22, 2011 (2011-03-22) (Lagoa, Rio de Janeiro)[1] April 15, 2011 (2011-04-15) (United States)
Running time	96 minutes[2]
Country	United States
Language	English[3]
Budget	$90 million[4]
Box office	$484.6 million[5]

Rio is a 2011 American animated musical adventure comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox Animation. It was directed by Carlos Saldanha from a screenplay written by Don Rhymer, Joshua Sternin, Jeffrey Ventimilia, and Sam Harper, based on a story conceived by Saldanha and the writing team of Earl Richey Jones and Todd Jones. The title refers to the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro,^[6] where the film is set. The film features the voices of Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, Jemaine Clement, Leslie Mann, George Lopez, and Jamie Foxx. It tells the story of Blu (Eisenberg), a domesticated male Spix's macaw who is taken to Rio de Janeiro to mate with a free-spirited female Spix's macaw, Jewel (Hathaway). The two eventually fall in love, and together they have to escape from being smuggled by Nigel (Clement), a cockatoo.

Saldanha developed his first story concept of Rio in 2005, in which a penguin is washed up in Rio. Saldanha learned of the production of the films Happy Feet (2006) and Surf's Up (2007), and changed the concept to involve macaws and their environments in Rio. He proposed his idea to Chris Wedge in 2006, and the project was set up at Blue Sky. The main voice actors were approached in 2009. During production, the crew visited Rio de Janeiro and also consulted with an expert on macaws at the Bronx Zoo to study their movements.

Rio debuted on March 22, 2011, in Lagoa, Rio de Janeiro, followed by its general release on April 15, 2011, by 20th Century Fox. The film received generally positive reviews from film critics, who praised the visuals, voice acting, characters, and music. The film was also a box office success, grossing over $143 million in the United States and $484 million worldwide. The film was nominated for Best Original Song for the song "Real in Rio" at the 84th Academy Awards.^[7] A sequel, Rio 2, was released on April 11, 2014.

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