Rio (2011 film)

Rio
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Carlos Saldanha
Produced by	Bruce Anderson John C. Donkin
Screenplay by	Don Rhymer Joshua Sternin Jeffrey Ventimilia Sam Harper
Story by	Carlos Saldanha Earl Richey Jones Todd Jones
Starring	Jesse Eisenberg Anne Hathaway George Lopez Jemaine Clement Tracy Morgan Leslie Mann Will.i.am Jamie Foxx
Music by	John Powell
Cinematography	Renato Falcão
Edited by	Harry Hitner
Production company	Blue Sky Studios 20th Century Fox Animation
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	March 22, 2011 (2011-03-22) (World premiere) April 15, 2011 (2011-04-15) (North America)
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English Portuguese
Budget	$90 million
Box office	$484.6 million

Rio is a 2011 American 3D computer-animated musical adventure-comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios and directed by Carlos Saldanha. The title refers to the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, where the film is set. The film features the voices of Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Jemaine Clement, Leslie Mann, George Lopez, and Jamie Foxx. It tells the story of Blu (Eisenberg), a 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. The theme song, "Telling the World" was performed by Taio Cruz.

Saldanha developed his first story concept of Rio in 1995, 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 premiered on March 22, 2011, in Lagoa, Rio de Janeiro, and had its general release on April 15, 2011, in North America. The film received generally positive reviews from film critics. Observers praised the visuals, voice acting, 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 Academy Award for Best Original Song for the song "Real in Rio", but lost to the other nominee, "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets. A sequel, Rio 2, was released on April 11, 2014.