credit: Rio (2011)
The movie Rio, released in 2011, is a part of a two-part hit series because of its message and the exciting action that the characters took part in. But before we dive into what made the movie successful, we have to know its characters to better understand its story. Below, we will learn about the main characters that appeared in the movie and the role they played.
1. Blu
He is a Blue Spix’s macaw who, at the beginning of the movie, was shown to be smuggled out of the forest in Brazil. He arrived in the American state of Minnesota after the crate containing him fell out of the transport truck. Blu was found, rescued, and adopted by Linda, who was a little girl at the time.
Blu grew up to be a domesticated bird. He became a loyal pet friend of Linda, who now grew up to be a bookshop owner. Being raised as a pet, he never learned how to fly properly in the wild. This had been a recurring theme in the movie as, during their stay in Rio de Janeiro, other bird characters would find his inability to fly problematic. However, he redeemed himself in the near end when he flew an injured Jewel to safety. That was the first time he ever flew on his own.
credit: Rio (2011)
2. Jewel
Jewel is a female of their species, also presumed to be their last. She was kept in the lab of the ornithologist Tulio Monteiro. At first, Tulio’s goal is for her and Blu to meet to breed and save their species from extinction. However, when these two birds meet, it is quickly realized that their life philosophies are contrasting. The male wanted to be kept in a cage and as a pet, while the female wanted her freedom.
They were captured by some smugglers, but they eventually escaped. However, they were still chained to each other. They have been freed from the chains thanks to the dog, Luiz, who lubricated the chains with his saliva.
Once free, Jewel was ecstatic at the thought of being able to fly again, much to Blu’s dismay. The male began to walk away, he was asked by Jewel to stay, but he rebuked. The angered Jewel went away bitterly but was captured by Nigel, who intended to use her as bait to capture the other birds.
When the birds were captured and loaded onto the smugglers’ plane, they tried to free themselves, involving a fight with Nigel, which caused Jewel to have an injury in her left wing. She fell off the plane, and Blu went after her. Afterward, they kissed mid-air, which made Blu gain the ability to fly.
3. Nigel
Nigel is a Sulphur-crested cockatoo and is the bird antagonist of the movie. Throughout the movie, he works as an accomplice in the mission of the smugglers to capture the rare Spix’s macaw birds for a huge profit.
During the flight, he fought with Jewel, which caused Blu to retaliate by strapping him to a fire extinguisher which flew uncontrollably in the air and crashed into the plane’s propellers.
credit: Rio (2011)
4. Linda Gunderson
She was first seen as an eight-year-old girl in Minnesota during winter. She discovered Blu, who was then a chick, in a crate on the side of the road. Concerned about the health and safety of the bird, she adopted him and raised him as her pet.
Linda is Blu’s best friend and taught him human-like abilities such as reading, drinking hot chocolate (which is dangerous for real-life birds), brushing his teeth, and handing her the mail. She works in a bookshop when Tulio finds Blu and tries to convince her to take Blu and herself to Rio de Janeiro because he had the last female of Blu’s species, and Blu was the last male.
5. Tulio Monteiro
Tulio, or in some sources, Túlio, is an ornithologist (bird expert). He had the last female Spix’s macaw in his center and had traveled the world in search of a male, which he eventually found in Linda’s bookshop.
After convincing Linda to take Blu with her to Brazil, they introduced Blu to Jewel and left them to their privacy. They went on a date in a restaurant outside, and there, he received a message that Blu and Jewel were stolen. The two birds were eventually retrieved.
In the end, he and Linda established the Blu Bird Sanctuary and the Livraria Blu (the Brazilian version of Linda’s bookshop).
