From the city to the wild in ‘Rio 2’

MANILA, Philippines- The fun bird family is back with “Rio 2.”

The success of the film “Rio” in 2011 led to this sequel, which focuses on the family’s struggle to fit in to their new home—Amazon.

Living in the city for the longest time, Jewel (voiced by Anne Hathaway) convinces Blu (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg) to bring their children to Amazon to experience how it is to live like a “real bird.”

Their children are Carla (voiced by Rachel Crow) who wants “freedom” from her parents and pursue her passion with music; Bia (voiced by Amandla Stenberg) who loves to read and trivial facts; and Tiago (voiced by Pierce Gagnon) who loves adventure, particularly if it’ll destroy something.

But their life in Amazon won’t be easy. Some of the reasons are Eduardo (voiced by Andy Garcia) a patriarch who gives comic obstacle to Blu; Mimi (voiced by Rita Moreno) Eduardo’s blunt sister; and Roberto (voiced by Bruno Mars) whose charms make Blu self-conscious.

Having his own struggle, Blu’s scared that he might not adapt to their new world and might lose the love of his life, Jewel.

But his happy family also makes some envious especially the cockatoo Nigel who wants to take revenge on Blu with the help of the former's right hand, the small frog Gabi (voiced by Kristin Chenoweth).

The film’s director Carlos Saldanha wanted a new setting for the film. “I wanted a setting very different from the one we explored in Rio. I thought we should move away from the city.

“We wanted to look at different musical flavors, sounds and exciting new beats that make the soundtrack for Rio 2 even bigger than the first film.”

“Rio 2” is in 2D and 3D format, and will be in cinemas on April 9.