The creator of Ice Age decodes his new film, Rio bird, Carlos Saldanha gives wings back to Blu, a captive-bred macaw back to the wild… in Rio. For Studio Ciné Live, he deciphers the most emblematic photo.
Carlos Saldanha gives wings back to Blu, a captive-bred macaw back to the wild… in Rio. For Studio Ciné Live, he deciphers the most emblematic photo.
Carlos Saldanha: We are at a key moment in history. Blu [voiced by Jesse Eisenberg], one of the last macaws in the wild, surrounded by Nico the toucan [Jamie Foxx] – he has the carnival spirit, he is the typical representative of the inhabitants of Rio – and Perla [Anne Hathaway], makes his very first flight… in hang gliding.
Blu is a caged Spix’s macaw; So he can’t fly. I liked that he had this handicap because he will have to overcome his fear. From a directing point of view, it was difficult to find the right camera movements, mainly in shots with a lot of birds, and to stage their flights properly. Or, since the colors of these birds are part of nature, it was sometimes difficult to make them stand out in the lush forest. As for Rio parrot Spix’s macaw a bluebird in a blue sky: it is complicated! So we sometimes added a few clouds to create contrast.
In hindsight, was it harder to animate the fur of the animals of the Ice Age or the feathers of Blu and his fellows?
Feathers are more difficult to animate by computer, because you see them better than hairs, for example, which are finer and more forgiving mistakes. I wanted the birds to look natural; Up to a point, because obviously, we allowed ourselves some creative freedoms. We also had to make them play comedy-like real characters, with feathers of different sizes, small, big … That’s a lot to deal with.
You seem to have made Rio a character in its own right…
We represented a very iconic place in Rio, where people come to see hang gliding and paragliding on takeoff. Blu jumps off the flight area, circles Rio and lands on a crowded beach.
In reality, hang gliders have a small square of beach reserved for them, and I always wondered what would happen if one of them missed his landing and landed in Copacabana… Basically, the city looks like Rio, but it’s not Rio! A lot is missing. I just wanted to capture the “feeling” of Rio. When we think of Brazil, all over the world, we imagine Rio.
This is his showcase. It is full of contrast. That’s also why it seemed so interesting to me: a theatrical nature, very rich inhabitants, the favelas… I’m spoilt for choice! One minute, we’re in the forest. The birds fly away, we follow them, and the next minute, we are in cars and traffic jams. I’ve always been fascinated by contrasts, and I’ve always thought it makes for good stories.
Rio parrot Spix’s macaw
I’m from Rio. I lived there until I was 21. I thought I knew the city, but when I made this film, I discovered places I’d never been. One of them is the sambodromo. All my life, I followed the carnival… on TV! I never took part in the parade. I had to pull all the strings of my network to be able to participate, and I embedded the whole team.
That was awesome. I had to feel like Blu or Linda [the owner of the macaw, editor’s note] in the parade, to feel overwhelmed, embarrassed. I had to feel all this to be able to transcribe it in the film.
And it was a real discovery. A Rio that I did not know at all. And then, it was funny to see all this through the eyes of a stranger. There are a lot of details that I don’t even pay attention to, that they used to pick up. For example: “Oh? Are sidewalks like that?” Or: “Here, the beach is like this…” I learned a lot more about the city than I would have thought. As for the rest of the team, they apprehended the vibrations, the feeling of being in Rio, and that was the most important thing.
The blue parrot from the cartoon Rio no longer exists in the wild
The Spix’s Macaw became famous with the release of the cartoon Rio in 2011. The 20th Century Fox film featured Blu, the last male of his species who had the distinction of not knowing how to fly but who had to travel thousands of miles to save the blue parrots. Fiction has unfortunately become a reality today.
Blu, the little hero of the film Rio released in 2011 featured a Spix’s macaw who tried to save his species. (Photo: screenshot Youtube/20th Century Fox)
According to a study conducted by the non-governmental organization for the protection of birds, BirdLife International, published on September 4 in the British newspaper The Guardian, the blue parrot is a species officially classified as “extinct in the wild“.
According to scientists, the species has been a victim of man-made damage such as deforestation. The NGO recalls, in passing, that the galloping expansion of urban areas and increasingly extreme weather phenomena related to the consequences of greenhouse gases, threaten more and more animals of the world (giant tortoises, iguanas, cormorants …).
Still a tiny hope
« Historically, 90% of bird extinctions were small populations on remote islands. Our figures show that there is a growing wave of extinctions on the continent, driven by habitat loss due to intensive agriculture, drainage, and logging,” explained Stuart Butchart, Chief Scientist of BirdLife International.
In the 2011 film, Blu, bred in captivity, made a trip from Minnesota to Brazil with his owner, to breed with the last wild female of his species, Perla. Well, maybe that’s the hope he has left for Spix’s Macaw. The bird has not completely disappeared from the face of the planet. There are still between 60 and 80 in captivity in the world. His case is still very worrying and he could join the 187 species of birds already extinct.
For scientists, its disappearance in the wild dates back to the early 2000s, 11 years before the broadcast of the cartoon that made it famous.
Blu is a rare species of Spix’s macaw and, during a transportation accident, it is abandoned in Minnesota. Along the way, he finds Linda, a young girl who decides to take him to his house. Years later, he introduces himself to Linda Library ornithologist Tullio, informing her that Blu is the last male of his species and that a female sample was recently found in Rio de Janeiro named Jewel. After initial difficulties, Tullio convinces Linda of the importance of coupling between the two bluebirds and the leaves for Brazil.
Blue, however, never learned to fly, and when he meets Jewel, falls in love. The two birds are kidnapped by poachers, who want to sell them for money and are bound by a chain. After their escape, Miguel, cockatoo poachers psicopaticamente evil and sadistic, begins to look for the two birds.
Blu and Jewel attempt to break free from the chain with the help of Rafael, a toucan sage, who leads them to the beginning of a cliff, where he tries to teach the art of flying in blue, with poor results.
Meanwhile, Linda and Tullius are helped by Fernando, a poor orphan who helps poachers, although in truth they want money and affection. Blu and Jewel are therefore forced to go to the market. Li then intervenes with Pedro and the inseparable friend Nico, who leads to a disco with the three birds. But the game is interrupted by common marmoset, Miguel’s henchmen.
The birds have the upper hand, and so the five friends arrive at Favela, workshop Luiz, a “Professional” bulldog of chainsaws, which frees them (but not with a chainsaw, but with his saliva). The two Spix’s Macaws are free. But at that moment, Blu and Jewel bicker, so blue has left the group and Jewel is kidnapped by Miguel. After coming to know, Blue, Luiz, Pedro, Nico, and Rafael run after the wagon where there are animal traffickers throughout the Rio Carnival until they get there and are captured and taken away on a plane, despite Tullio and Linda trying by all means to stop them. A blue plane manages to break free and does the same for the other birds.
But Miguel tries to stop them and breaks a wing in Jewel. Blue, however, manages to end up with Miguel in the plane’s engine causing him to lose all his feathers. Meanwhile, Blu and Jewel fall off the plane, and during the fall of the two kisses. At that time, he can fly to save blue jewel. The two birds decide to live in freedom with all the birds for life.
The couple, as seen at the end of the film, had three children. Poachers remain in jail instead. Linda and Tullio adopt Fernando, but Miguel survives the plane crash, but not pens, and Mauro, the king of marmosets with white feathers, laughs and takes a picture of shame and tries to cover himself with a sheet.
Rio Characters
- blue He is a ‘Spix’s macaw who goes to Rio to mate with a female macaw to save his species. He is the protagonist of the film.
- jewel (the jewel in the original): a macaw woman kept in an aviary in Rio. She is initially annoyed by Blue and his aerophobia but manages to develop thanks to Blue and finds love with him.
- Rafael: A captivating and wise toco that he helps in the relationship with Blue Jewel.
- Miguel (Nigel in the English version): is a large cockatoo Crested sadistic, evil, and cruel, he is the main antagonist of the film. He wants to capture Blu and Jewel on behalf of the poachers. But, in fact, he wants to ruin the lives of Rio’s colorful birds that have dried his reputation as a more fascinating bird.
- Fernando A little orphan in Brazil forced to earn a living by making theft, being poor has no choice, even if the salary is a pittance, then joins the forces with Linda and Tullio.
- Linda He is the owner of Blue; Like a young girl, she found it in a crate after it was abandoned. He is a love librarian and confidential, at the end of the film, Tullio adopts Fernando.
- Luiz He is a bulldog, guard dog a mechanic. Rafael describes themself as a professional. She licks her nose and often has a pathological disorder that causes her to produce abnormal amounts of saliva that flow from her cheeks.
- Nico He is a yellow canary who helps Blue when he arrives in Rio. Wearing a green cap crown like a hat.
- Pedro He is a Cardinal posh red rap lover, and best friend Nico, who helps with Blu Rio.
- Chloe He is Canada Goose teasing Blue.
- Alice: He is Chloe’s other goose friend.
- Tullio is an eccentric and cute bird lover, but the definition of a winterless person in Minnesota.
- Eve: Rafael is his wife. Very irritating and discordant, which stereotipizza, with Rafael, the typical couple without romance and with a large number of children, (17:01 pm to come, says Rafael).
- String vest He is the leader of the poachers and is the film’s secondary antagonist. Despite his intelligence, he eventually lost the money made with the blue ara, thanks to stupidity and his henchmen.
- Tipa He is the greatest henchman and dumber than Marcel.
- Armando He is the henchman more and a little more awake in the Marcel service.
- Mauro: Is the king of marmosets by white feathers. Her royal jewelry These are everyday objects (watches, rings, etc.) that have captured tourists.
Rio Production
In development for years, Rio is considered by Brazilian Carlos Saldanha a “dream project.” Saldanha said that in the film there will be more music than in his three films from the Ice Age saga.
The film contains a dedication to Clymene Campos Saldanha, mother of director Carlos, He died of a degenerative disease.
The release of the film in theaters was planned by the cast of Angry Birds Rio, a variant of the popular game Angry Birds with a scenario inspired by the film and the presence of Blu and Jewel among the playable birds. The title, a collaboration between 20th Century Fox and Rovio mobile, was released on March 22, 2011, App Store and Mac App Store and then on the android platform. The launch of the thematic game was a great success, with 10 million downloads in the first 10 days of release.
Rio Hospitality
Recipes
The film was a great success with the public, a big hit of 484,635,760 $. Thanks to its excellent collection, Rio became the sequel to the big hits plus Blue Sky Studios ever created.
RIO All Movie Clips (2011)
SOURCE: Entertainment Access
