Rio 2
GKIDS | Release Date: April 11, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
49
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
26
Negative:
3
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallApr 10, 2014
Choosing any unwieldy subplot to trim from Rio 2 is tough, as they're each so vibrantly rendered. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyApr 10, 2014
The superiority of the musical sequences, and laziness of the writing, creates a dynamic where you find yourself wishing the characters would shut up and dance. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesBill ZweckerApr 10, 2014
With a splashy Brazilian-themed musical score, top-notch voice talent and sharp-witted writing, the sequel to “Rio” is one delightful animated romp. It’s as good as the first one and sure to please both the kiddies and adults with its two-tiered humor. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJustin LoweMar 27, 2014
Under Saldanha's guidance, an extensive team of animators and visual effects artists elevates the 3D format to an alluring level, with character details, dense background imagery and often complex action and aerial sequences (including a requisite Busby Berkeley-inspired musical number) appearing effortlessly executed. Read full review
63
New York PostKyle SmithApr 9, 2014
Rio 2 is not what I would call Amazon prime, but it’s got enough silly songs and daffy critters to keep the little ones happy. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyApr 10, 2014
Wonderfully animated and well-voiced, Rio 2 is nevertheless too much. Too much plot, too many issues, too many characters. But not too much music. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzApr 10, 2014
There's just nothing magical about the story, nothing that lifts it above its status as an agreeable song-and-dance movie, a laugh here, a laugh there, pleasant but overly busy, for seemingly no real reason other than to throw a few more set pieces at the wall to see what sticks. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanApr 10, 2014
Most impressive: the striking vibrancy of the animation. This is the rare movie that earns the extra cost of 3-D glasses. Read full review
60
Total FilmKate StablesApr 6, 2014
The predictable plot gets an enjoyably venomous boost from Jemaine Clement’s revenge-obsessed cockatoo Nigel. Read full review
60
EmpireAngie ErrigoApr 6, 2014
A very unfocused, sporadically funny film, lifted by its (predictable) visual splendour. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonApr 1, 2014
The characterisation is feisty and memorable, the song-and-dance sequences intricate and colourful, and it’ll charm the socks off little people. Read full review
60
VarietyJustin ChangMar 27, 2014
This hyperactive toon extravaganza has color, flair and energy to burn. But it’s the sort of relentless juggling act that finally proves more exhausting than exhilarating. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyStephan LeeApr 9, 2014
There are fun moments, especially with Kristin Chenoweth’s vampy poison dart frog. But with more evolved films like "The LEGO Movie" and "Frozen" in the animated ecosphere, overstuffed and gag-reliant time-passers like the Rio movies feel like a dying breed. Read full review
50
HitfixDrew McWeenyApr 18, 2014
Rio 2 is a perfect example of franchise maintenance in place of storytelling. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriApr 11, 2014
You wish Rio 2 had the smarts and the inventiveness to match its scattered bursts of ambition. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaApr 11, 2014
Rio 2 has exhausted its limited amount of charm. Most regrettably, Rita Moreno appears in her first movie in eight years as Jewel’s overbearing Aunt Mimi but is barely allowed to make an impression. Read full review
50
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisApr 10, 2014
A tropical tornado of cadmium and cobalt, magenta and marigold, Carlos Saldanha’s frantic follow-up to his well-received 2011 animated feature, “Rio,” ups the ante on sound and movement but pays scant attention to story. Read full review
50
Washington PostStephanie MerryApr 10, 2014
The movie feels at once too busy and too derivative. That’s no easy feat, but it’s also one sequel-makers probably shouldn’t aspire to. Read full review
50
TimeRichard CorlissApr 10, 2014
A little less agreeable and way more aggressive than its better begetter, Rio 2 has the overstuffed agenda of a movie that’s been focus-grouped to death. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia PuigApr 10, 2014
Rio 2 teems with colorful animated splendor and elaborate musical numbers, but its rambling, hectic, if good-hearted, story is for the birds. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTom RussoApr 10, 2014
It’s fun in stretches, but also busily forced. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubApr 10, 2014
It's a bright and fun movie, but also repetitive and overloaded with plot. A nice enough diversion, but not a necessary one. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsApr 10, 2014
Rio 2 offers roughly the same approach to story and to story clutter as did the first movie. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubKevin McFarlandApr 9, 2014
Like the first film, Rio 2 is almost oppressively bright, bombarding the screen with flashes of saturated rainforest colors and even a bird version of soccer (timed a bit too perfectly to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil). Read full review
50
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreApr 9, 2014
If this sequel proves anything, it’s that more is not always better. Read full review
50
Film.comJenni MillerApr 9, 2014
A strange combination of mental exhaustion and boredom. Read full review
42
The PlaylistDrew TaylorApr 10, 2014
You get the sense that Rio 2 wasn't thought through as much as it was quickly cobbled together as it went along, with a simple, clearheaded goal in mind: just make it good enough to warrant a "Rio 3." Read full review
40
CineVueDaniel GreenApr 18, 2014
Rio 2's Amazon adventure finds its wings clipped by more tired and unnecessary subplots than you can shake a feather at. Read full review
40
The DissolveScott TobiasApr 10, 2014
Amid all the excess busyness, there are formulas within formulas. Read full review
40
The GuardianMike McCahillApr 6, 2014
It's hard to ascribe much art or wit to a franchise that retains the services of will.i.am as comic relief – and a thoroughly inorganic talent-show subplot feels like another attempt to groom youngsters for life in the Cowell jungle. Read full review
40
The TelegraphRobbie CollinApr 3, 2014
This jumbled sequel, which was also directed by Carlos Saldanha, loses most of what made the first film such an infectious entertainment. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleLouis BlackApr 16, 2014
All singing, all dancing, all color: Rio 2 is a modern, studio animation blockbuster spilling all over the place, rather than arching into the sky. Read full review
30
Village VoiceChris PackhamApr 10, 2014
Rio 2 wants to be a musical, but instead of timing songs to, say, the emotional peaks of the characters, director Carlos Saldanha opts for high-intensity intervals of singing every four minutes. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineEric HendersonApr 8, 2014
The net effect is a shapeless would-be diversion in which things just happen independently, a string of effects missing any cause. Read full review
More From This Movie

49 Critic Reviews

6.2 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL