Film Preview: Rio 2 (2014)

Poster

Additional posters can be found below.

Trailer Link

Release Date:

April 11, 2014

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “Blu, Jewel and their three kids living the perfect domesticated life in the magical city that is Rio de Janeiro. When Jewel decides the kids need to learn to live like real birds, she insists the family venture into the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in with his new neighbors, he worries he may lose Jewel and the kids to the call of the wild.”

Poster: B / D / C (3) / B- / C+ (3) / C- (4) / C+ / D+

Review: (#1-#5) We start things off with the design that will be broadly seen promoting the film. It’s reminiscent of a number of similar films, but it presents the color and diversity that will make the film a success. The second, a teaser design that preceded the primary, doesn’t do much but tell audiences that a sequel to a film they are partly familiar with is pending release. The next three are thematically-linked, but individually distinct putting the audience clearly in the environment of its characters, which will surely sell the movie well if posted together.

(#6-#13) A crafty teaser that hints at a sequel without sporting a title. Thus making this a design that’s equal parts maddening and clever, but only appealing to those who already know the film’s beginnings. This is followed by another three linked designs. These are a bit more broad than the previous, but also feature a much more diverse cast of characters. The next four are largely generic character designs that fit a broad number of characters onto a limited number of designs.

(#14-#15) The fourteenth design is appropriately targeted at Valentine’s day (February 14). Numerically, this is insignificant, but the design borrows heavily from the sequel teaser previously discussed, though this one clearly displays the title, even if a bit smaller. The final is German (I believe) and puts the characters into a movie theater, which is a bit too meta to be impressive.

Trailer: C / B- / B-

Review: It’s cute and a little disturbing, but that’s only the beginning where a cat sings a song from Cats. Regardless, the footage that follows it is corny and lacking in excitement.

(#2 & #3) The two new trailers are fairly similar, borrowing heavily the same scenes from the film. There are a few minor differences, but neither distinguishes itself from the other enough to be more enticing. That said, the film has plenty of decent humor, but most of it of a childish nature, which might appeal to children, but might not encourage parents to attend, forced to watch it with their kids.

Oscar Prospects:

The previous film earned a nomination for Best Original Song. I don’t see that feat happening again and a Best Animated Feature nomination is very unlikely.