Music and beat of the Amazon in 'Rio 2'

MANILA, Philippines - Award-winning film composer John Powell, who wrote the score for the blockbuster adventure animation “Rio,” returns in “Rio 2” as does Brazilian music legend Sergio Mendes as executive music producer, with additional songs by fellow Brazilian phenomenon Carlinhos Brown.

 

Brazilian-born director Carlos Saldanha returns to his roots in “Rio 2” where we now find Blu and Jewel along with their chicks Tiago, Bia and Carla settled domestically with their human pals Linda and Tulio.  Following the colossal success of “Rio,” Carlos Saldanha once again transports us to his home country in the sequel, but this time we discover a very different part of Brazil, as Blu’s family and friends enter the heart of the Amazon jungle. 

 

“Rio 2” delivers another captivating story revolving around two Blue Spix Macaws, Jewel (Oscar winning actress Anne Hathaway) and Blu (Oscar nominated Jesse Eisenberg) who are settled in the city with their three children. Blu is perfectly contented with city life. After all, he is a domesticated bird who prefers pancakes to Brazil nuts and only learned to fly quite recently.  Jewel, however, has a deep yearning to return to her roots and live in nature. She worries that her family has no concept of what it means to be wild and free.

 

As the family settles into this exciting new world, Blu finds his learning curve to be a steep one.  He is unable to handle even the most simple and important tasks, like building a nest and foraging for food.  â€œBlu not only feels out of place in the jungle, he feels out of place with this entire flock of birds who share his DNA, but none of his lifestyle choices,” Eisenberg notes.

 

“Rio 2” also features performances by Brazilian artists Barbatuques, UAKTI, and prominent Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist Milton Nascimento.  For Saldanha, the reunion of his “dream team visionary musical artists” – Powell, Mendes and Brown – was critical, but only the first step in capturing a Brazilian beat quite different from the one that captivated audiences in “Rio.” 

 

“For RIO 2, we wanted to explore other rhythms and percussion from the north and northeastern parts of the country.  I think we have a very sophisticated and fun soundtrack for RIO 2.”  â€œOne of the most enjoyable things about the movie is all of those different sounds,” says producer Anderson.  â€œWe wanted the story and music to support Brazil’s diverse musical culture.  â€˜Rio’ introduced the world to Brazilian flavor, but it was about a very small region of the country.  And here we’re covering much broader territory.”

 

Sergio Mendes, who along with Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett, was nominated for an Oscar for the song “Real in Rio,” from the first film, notes that, “Brazilian music is very rich, with different rhythms and beats.  There is so much diversity.”  Mendes introduced Saldanha to Nascimento, and they began mapping out the film’s music.  John Powell also became a key player in this vital work, as he was with “Rio.”  â€œJohn is very sensitive to the Brazilian music,” says Mendes.  â€œHe loves it and immediately understood the richness of its rhythms.” 

 

Powell, who was taking a break from film scoring for a long-planned return to the concert stage, was intrigued, and he returned to the world of “Rio.”   “I was fascinated by the fact that Brazil has so many cultures and, thus, has so many wonderful musical cultures,” says the famed composer. “I couldn’t resist it. We got to go all over the country, musically speaking.  I really sparked to the idea of exploring a multi-cultural Brazil, rather than just the music of Rio.”

 

“Rio 2” opens with a grand scene in which the birds we met in the first picture – and a flock of their friends – soar together in a rousing musical celebration, to the song “What is Love,” performed by Janelle Monáe, a rising R&B/Pop star, songwriter and producer.  

 

UAKTI lends its unique percussion beats to the Brazilian version of “It’s a Jungle Out There,” performed along with Philip Lawrence, written by Jean Yves “Jeeve” Ducornet and Michael Diskint, and produced by Philip Lawrence and Jean Yves “Jeeve” Ducornet and John Powell.   Later, audiences are treated to a pop version of the song.

 

“We were looking for a sound in the Amazon that was very exotic and unusual, that just didn’t sound like anything we’d heard in the first movie,” Powell continues.  â€œSo it really did feel as if Blu was out of his element.  To Blu, the sanctuary really had to feel like the most exotic or foreign place it could for a bird from Minnesota via Rio.”

 

“Don’t Go Away” is a lullaby that Jewel sings to her three offspring on their first night in their new home in the Amazon.  The music and lyrics is by Flávia Maia (member of Barbatuques), and Taura Stinson, respectively.  It is performed by Anne Hathaway, featuring instrumentation by UAKTI and produced by John Powell.

 

Another show-stopping musical moment comes with Jemaine/Nigel and Kristin/Gabi’s impromptu rendition of the classic Gloria Gaynor hit “I Will Survive,” during the Amazon auditions.  The parody lyrics are by Jemaine Clement and co-screenwriter Yoni Brenner.  Powell was initially surprised, if not shocked by that song choice, but he notes, “When they showed me the scene, I suddenly realized, oh, they’re on to something here. And when Jemaine performed the song and added a rap section he had written, which happened, literally, while we were recording his vocals, it really came together.  He started coming up with these incredibly funny lines.  The hardest thing with Jemaine is to pick the lines you want, because there were so many great ones. And Kristin was the perfect partner, adding her own special touches and fun to the tune.”

 

The final big musical moment, “BatucadaFamilia,” comes during an Amazon version of Carnaval.  It is performed by Carlinhos Brown, Siedah Garrett, will.i.am, Jamie Foxx, Rachel Crow, Amy Heidemann, Andy Garcia and Rita Moreno; with music by Carlinhos Brown, Sergio Mendes and John Powell; lyrics by Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett; and produced by John Powell, Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown. 

 

Powell notes that by the time audiences hear the full song, it might seem like they’ve heard at least parts of it before – and, indeed, they have.  He explains:  â€œOnce we’d created ‘Batucada Familia,’ we were able to go back and place bits of it throughout the movie, so it appears right by the title sequence at the beginning of the movie, after Janelle’s song. I’ve quoted it all the way through the score. By the time you get to the end and that song pops up again, it should be familiar territory, as it were.”

 

“Rio 2” opens in more than 200 screens nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.