Twentieth Century Fox teamed up with director Carlos Saldanha to unveil a "close-to-final" presentation of Rio in 3D to members of the press this morning. Joining the packed audience inside the 476-seat Zanuck Theater were stars Anne Hathaway, George Lopez and Jamie Foxx.
Saldanha introduced eleven scenes from the movie in Real D 3D, including a vibrant opening samba sequence and a series of chase sequences that put the 3D animated technology to good use. Lopez joked about his character, Rafael the Toucan, being married with 17 kids and one in the egg while Hathaway commented on singing with Will. I. Am and Brazilian music legend Sergio Mendes as being "bowel-clenchingly frightening." Meanwhile, Saldanha shook off his early nerves by pretending to speak like Colin Firth's character in The King's Speech.
Rio's the story of Blu, voiced by Oscar nominee Jesse Eisenberg, who is thought to be the last Macaw on Earth and doesn't know how to fly. In the opening sequence, he is captured by smugglers and eventually winds up in Minnesota where he forms a bond with his new owner Linda, voiced by Leslie Mann. When Blu and Linda learn that there's another Macaw in Rio di Janeiro, the duo head down to the exotic city to find Blu's counterpart, Jewel, voiced by Hathaway. With the help of wise-cracking city birds (and a memorable drooling bulldog voiced by Tracy Morgan), Blu finds the courage to fly and thwart a group of kidnappers hot on their trail, led by Jermaine Clement's cockatoo, Nigel.
So…ready to be macaw-ed? Check out the first two minutes below and let us know what you think! Rio opens nationwide in 2D and 3D on April 15th.
