The 2011
animatedmusicaladventurecomedy filmof the same name, produced by
Blue Sky Studios and
20th Century Fox Animation, and directed by
Carlos Saldanha, featured two albums released for the film: an original soundtrack and an original score.
Interscope Records released the film's soundtrack Rio (Music from the Motion Picture) on April 5, 2011 in digital formats, and a physical release on April 12.[1][2] The album produced by the film's composer
John Powell, and Brazilian musician
Sérgio Mendes, featured collaborations from Brazilian and American artists, along with songs performed by the film's cast members. The music received critical acclaim from critics, praising the Brazilian influences in the music and creative choices of involving the native musicians to influence South American culture. Powell's score was a separate album, titled Rio (Original Motion Picture Score), which was released by
Varèse Sarabande on April 19, 2011.[3]
The soundtrack takes inspiration from
Brazilian music, and several songs under various genres were written and produced.[4] Brazilian musician
Sérgio Mendes contributed to the soundtrack, as an executive producer with John Powell. On March 13, 2011, during his performance at the
Geffen Playhouse in
Los Angeles, Mendes revealed the official soundtrack list, and also announced that he would re-record the classical Brazilian song "
Mas que Nada" for the film and album.[4]
Stating his involvement in the project, Mendes said that "The film is such a celebration of Brazilian life, of Carnival, the nature, the rhythms, the joy, the sensuality. It’s nicely timed with my record."[4] The album featured performances from the film's cast,
Jesse Eisenberg,
Anne Hathaway,
Jamie Foxx, along with rapper-singer
will.i.am (also featuring in the film's cast),[5] and contributions from Brazilian artists
Carlinhos Brown, Mikael Mutti,
Gracinha Leporace,
Bebel Gilberto, American artists
Siedah Garrett,
Ester Dean and British singer-songwriter
Taio Cruz performing.[6][7]
Release
On March 18, 2011,
Brazilian-English singer-songwriter
Taio Cruz released a music video and theme song named "
Telling the World" on YouTube for the soundtrack.[8] The single was later released for digital download on March 20.[8] The soundtrack was digitally released by
Interscope Records on April 5,[1] and was distributed in physical CD formats, the following week (April 12).[2] will.i.am performed a remix of the track "
Drop It Low", to celebrate the film's release and uploaded it on YouTube on April 11, 2011.[9]
In the Brazilian edition some songs gained a
Portuguese version performed by famous Brazilian artists such as
Ivete Sangalo (replacing Ester Dean in "Take You to Rio (Remix)") and
Carlinhos Brown (replacing Jamie Foxx in "Fly Love"). "Real in Rio" became "Favo de Mel" (Honeycomb) but it was performed by the same artists as the English version.[10][11]
Reception
Reviewing the soundtrack, Jason Newman of MTV wrote "The toe-tapping, easily digestible rhythms inherent in so much classic Brazilian music dovetails nicely with a movie geared toward children. But since kids don't spend money, we also get Taio Cruz and will.i.am to ensure that those precious commercial demographics are hit. It's a win for 20th Century Fox; a half-win for the rest of us."[12] Matt Collar of AllMusic wrote "Rio is a sunny, dance-oriented album well suited to the film's South American setting."[13]
Programming – Beth Caucci, Michael John Mollo, Paul Mounsey, Victor Chaga
Arrangements – Beth Caucci, Michael John Mollo, Paul Mounsey, Victor Chaga, John Powell
Recording – Bill Schnee, Marc Viner, Shawn Murphy, Aubry "Big Juice" Delaine, Padraic "Padlock" Kerin, will.i.am, Matt Shane, Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, Miles Walker, Tim Lauber, Erik Swanson
Music editor – Tom Carlson
Score editor – David Channing
Engineer – Denis St. Amand, Adam Kagan, Juliette Amoroso, Damien Lewis
Mixing – Brad Haehnel, Shawn Murphy, Bill Schnee, Greg Hayes, John Traunwieser, Marc Viner, Matt Ward, Dyland "3D" Dresdow, Phil Tan, Didiê Cunha
Mastering – Fernando Lee, Stephen Marsh
Music co-ordinator – Germaine Franco
Music preparation – Joann Kane Music Service, Mark Graham
Musical Assistance – Devin Kelly, Eric Wegener, Erin McAnally, Grace Lai, Jacob Merryman
Instruments
Bass – Nico Abondolo, René Camacho
Flute – Pedro Eustache
Guitar – George Doering, Jemaine Clement, Kleber Jorge, Mikael Mutti
Percussion – Alberto Lopez, Antonio DeSantanna, Carlos A.S. De Oliveira, Davi Vieira, Jose "Ce Bruno" Eisenberg, Jose Jesus, Leonardo Costa, Luis Claudio Candido, Marco "Gibi" Dos Santos, Mikael Mutti, Nailton "Meia Noite" Dos Santos, Wagner Profeta Santos, Carlinhos Brown
Whistle – Carlinhos Brown, John Powell, Mikael Mutti
Orchestra
Orchestration – Andrew Kinney, Ben Wallfisch=, Dave Metzger, Germaine Franco, John Ashton Thomas, Jon Kull, Randy Kerber, Rick Giovinazzo
MIDI orchestration – Beth Caucci, Michael John Mollo, Paul Mounsey, Victor Chaga
Concertmaster – Bruce Dukov
Score conductor – Pete Anthony
Score contractor – Gina Zimmitti
Vocal contractor – Edie Lehmann Boddicker
Stage manager – Greg Dennen, Tom Steel
Management
Business affairs (Interscope Records) – Jason Kawejsza, Rand Hoffman
Business affairs (Twentieth Century Fox) – Tom Cavanaugh
Director of international marketing – Tomoko Itoki
Executive in charge of music (Interscope Records) – Tony Seyler
Executive in charge of music (Twentieth Century Fox) – Robert Kraft
Head of international marketing – Jurgen Grebner
Marketing (Interscope Records) – Julie Hovsepian
Music clearance – Ellen Ginsburg
Soundtrack executive producer (Twentieth Century Fox) – Andrew Van Meter
Music production supervisor (Twentieth Century Fox) – Rebecca Morellato
Music supervisor (Twentieth Century Fox) – Danielle Diego
Music co-ordinator (Twentieth Century Fox) – Johnny Choi
Artwork
Art direction – Dina Hovsepian
Graphics – David Dibble, Jason Sadler, Tom Cardone
Filmtracks.com wrote "After Powell's stunning success with How to Train Your Dragon, his scores will inevitably be compared to that benchmark, and while Rio exhibits the same talent in its ranks, the 2011 score lacks the cohesiveness and consistently impressive passages of its predecessor. Those who don't care for the heavy, parody-like Latin influence will likely prefer the composer's recent Mars Needs Moms. Still, Powell is almost always good for a solid three stars in response to these kinds of efforts, and he achieves that rating again with ease."[23] James Christopher Monger of AllMusic wrote "Powell, who worked on all of the Ice Age sequels, as well as King Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon, is no stranger to animated films, and his work here is both unobtrusive and effective, blending Midwest Americana and sunny tropicalismo into a tasty summer beverage."[24]
Assistant production – Devin Kelly, Eric Wegener, Erin McAnally, Grace Lai, Jacob Merryman
Programming, arrangements – Dominic Lewis, Paul Mounsey, Beth Caucci, Michael Mollo, Victor Chaga
Engineer – Denis St. Amand
Recording – Erik Swanson
Mixing – Brad Haehnel, Shawn Murphy, Greg Hayes, John Traunwieser, Marc Viner, Matt Ward
Mastering – Fernando Lee, Stephen Marsh
Editing – David Channing, Tom Carlson
Executive producer – Robert Townson
Music co-ordinator – Germaine Franco
Copyist – Joann Kane Music Service, Mark Graham
Instruments
Bass – Ann Atkinson, Bruce Morgenthaler, Chris Kollgaard, Ed Meares, Frances Liu, Mike Valerio, Sue Ranney
Bassoon – John Mitchell, John Steinmetz, Rose Corrigan
Cello – Tony Cooke, Tina Soule, Chris Ermacoff, Erika Duke Kirkpatrick, Jodi Burnett, Miguel Martinez, Paul Cohen, Paula Hochhalter, Steve Richards, Tim Loo, Victor Lawrence
Clarinet – Greg Huckins, Justo Almario, Stuart Clark
Drums – Mike Shapiro
Electric Bass – Nico Abondolo, Rene Camacho
Flute – Chris Bleth, Geri Rotella, Heather Clark, Pedro Eustache
French Horn – Dan Kelley, Dylan Hart, Jim Thatcher, Jennie Kim, Joe Meyer, Phil Yao, Steve Becknell, Teag Reeves
Guitar – George Doering, Jemaine Clement, Kleber Jorge, Marcel Camargo, Mikael Mutti, Roberto Montero
Harp – Katie Kirkpatrick, Marcia Dickstein
Keyboards – Sergio Mendes
Oboe – David Weiss, John Yoakum
Percussion – Alberto Lopez, Antonio DeSantanna, Carlos A.S. De Oliveira, Davi Vieira, Jose "Ce Bruno" Eisenberg, Jose Jesus, Leonardo Costa, Luis Claudio Candido, Marco "Gibi" Dos Santos, Mikael Mutti, Nailton "Meia Noite" Dos Santos, Wagner Profeta Santos, Carlinhos Brown
Piano, celesta – Randy Kerber
Saxophone – Dan Higgins, John Mitchell
Trombone – Alex Iles, Andrew Lippman, Bill Reichenbach, Charlie Loper, Phil Teele
Trumpet – Dan Fornero, Harry Kim, Jon Lewis, Rick Baptist
Tuba – Doug Tornquist
Viola – Alma Fernandez, Andrew Duckles, Brian Dembow, Darren Mc Cann, David Walther, Kate Reddish, Kazi Pitelka, Keith Green, Lynne Richberg, Marlow Fisher, Matt Funes, Thomas Diener, Vickie Miskolczy
Violin – Alan Grunfeld, Alyssa Park, Ana Landauer, Bruce Dukov, Carol Pool, Darius Campo, Eric Hosler, Eun Mee Ahn, Eve Butler, Grace Oh, Irina Voloshina, Jennie Levin*, Joel Derouin, Julie Rogers, Katia Popov, Kevin Connolly, Liane Mautner, Lily Ho Chen, Marc Sazer, Marina Manukian, Natalie Leggett, Neel Hammond, Nina Evtuhov, Richard Altenbach, Roberto Cani, Sara Parkins, Shalini Vijayan, Sid Page, Tami Hatwan, Yelena Yegoryan, Roger Wilkie
Whistle – Carlinhos Brown, John Powell, Mikael Mutti
Orchestra
Performer – The Hollywood Studio Symphony
Orchestrated By – Andrew Kinney, Ben Wallfisch, Dave Metzger, Germaine Franco, John Ashton Thomas, Jon Kull, Randy Kerber, Rick Giovinazzo
Concertmaster – Bruce Dukov
Score conductor – Pete Anthony
Score contractor – Gina Zimmitti
Recording – Tim Lauber
Stage manager – Greg Dennen, Tom Steel
Management
Business affairs (Twentieth Century Fox) – Tom Cavanaugh
Music clearance (Twentieth Century Fox) – Ellen Ginsburg
Executive in charge of music (Twentieth Century Fox) – Robert Kraft
Music co-ordinator (Twentieth Century Fox) – Johnny Choi
Music supervision (Twentieth Century Fox) – Danielle Diego
Music production supervisor (Twentieth Century Fox) – Rebecca Morellato