Rio

"Flying is not what you think up here, it's what you feel in here."

Rio is Blue Sky Studios' sixth film with Twentieth Century Fox, originating from director Carlos Saldanha's inspiration from his native upbringing in Brazil. Released on April 15th, 2011 in the U.S., and opened as the #1 movie in its first week.

Blu is a critically endangered Spix's Macaw (referred to as a 'Blue Macaw') who lives as a pet with the owner of a small bookstore in wintry, serene Minnesota. However, after a visit from a veterinarian, Blu finds out that he's one of the last of his kind, and there's a female in South America. He's sent down as part of a captive breeding program, quickly kidnapped along with her by a group of smugglers, gets chained together with her, then they escape and go on an adventure in Rio de Janeiro.

Oh, and he's deathly afraid of flying.

You can watch the teaser and both U.S. trailers here. The U.K. trailer is here, and includes bonus footage and a "cast call".

Received a surprising single 2012 Academy Award nomination for Best Song ("Real In Rio").

A sequel, scheduled for 2014, has been rumored.

Not to be confused with Rio -Rainbow Gate!-

Rio has examples of:
""Out here I'm just an hors d'oeuvres, a feathery spring roll!"
 * Acrophobic Bird: Literal example in Blu, due to a traumatic incident where he fell out of his nest before he was old enough to fly. Well Lampshaded later in the jungle.

"That is why we stay in the trees, and not on the ground.""

"Rafael: You think too much!"
 * Adam and Eve Plot
 * Adorkable: Blu, but given that he's voiced by Jesse Eisenberg, that's to be expected. His owner, Linda, shares many of Blu's character traits, including this one.
 * Tulio also count as one, including his Cloudcuckoolander tendencies.
 * All CGI Is Pixar (All Other CGI Is Dreamworks)
 * All-Star Cast: The Five-Man Band, for a start, are played by Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez, Jamie Foxx, and will.i.am.
 * Celebrity Voice Actors
 * Alternate Animal Affection: Surprisingly subverted. You'd think that with all the biological and anatomical correctness in the movie, they would've replaced kissing with something more realistic, like a nuzzle.
 * Amplified Animal Aptitude: Many of the animal characters have their moment.
 * Blu's ability to open a birdcage from the inside comes as quite a surprise to Jewel, who was trying to break out by force. When Jewel is later captured by Nigel, Blu is briefly seen picking a lock with his claws to get Jewel out of the cage.
 * The marmosets know how to operate cellphones, send text messages, use digital cameras, etc.
 * Although hilariously, the text message reads, "Ooo! Ooo! Aaa! Aaa! :(|)" Which is still understood quite specifically by its recipient.
 * Analogy Backfire: Subverted. Rafael refers to Jewel as "the Juliet to [Blu's] Romeo" - then quickly follows that up acknowledging that they both die at the end.
 * Animal Talk: Zig-zagged in that animals of the same species have different languages- the Brazilian birds (like Jewel) can speak both Portugese and English, while Blu, who was raised in the U.S.A, only speaks English. Other native Brazilian birds like Rafael, Nic and Pedro are never heard in anything but English.
 * During one chase scene, Blu jokes about being bilingual after imitating a dog's bark to scare off a street cat.
 * Audible Gleam: Look closely when Luiz is about to fire up his table saw.
 * Awesomeness By Analysis: Subverted when Blu makes his attempt to smash the chain with the boulder, but played straight twice towards the end of the film when he
 * Prior to this, the trope is subverted when Blu studies flying and then attempts to do so in the library, but panics at the last moment and ends up as a macaw Christmas tree. And throughout the film, his "thrust, lift, drag, weight" mantra always ends in him having a panic attack at the last moment. Rafael says it perfectly:

"Rafael: No no no, don't turn around; they can sense fear!"
 * Ax Crazy: Nigel.
 * Babies Ever After:
 * Badass Bookworm: In the third act, Blu, Linda, and Tulio are promoted to the rank.
 * Bar Brawl: Well, samba club brawl.
 * Beta Couple: Linda and Tulio.
 * Beware the Cute Ones: The toucan babies, upon first meeting Blu and Jewel, act so cute and adorable that Jewel teases Blu to "be careful... they might snuggle you to death!" And then a few seconds later one of the babies starts tearing out Blu's feathers, while the other one does the same to Jewel and... well, it snowballs from there. And though he loves his family, even Rafael is not immune to this.
 * Beware the Cute Ones: The toucan babies, upon first meeting Blu and Jewel, act so cute and adorable that Jewel teases Blu to "be careful... they might snuggle you to death!" And then a few seconds later one of the babies starts tearing out Blu's feathers, while the other one does the same to Jewel and... well, it snowballs from there. And though he loves his family, even Rafael is not immune to this.

"Jewel: You'll never find [Blu]! He's already gone.
 * Big No: The entire city of Rio lets out a collective one when Nigel's impact with a power transformer blacks out the city right as their soccer team is about to score the final point during a major game.
 * Bilingual Bonus: Blink and you'll miss it, but after Tulio dresses in the macaw costume, he catches a glimpse of himself in a mirror and exclaims "Cyanopsitta spixii!" the scientific name of a Spix Macaw.
 * For ornithologically versed viewers, this one kind of transcends language. The word "Spix" sticks out quite clearly.
 * Book Ends: The movie begins in the rainforest when Blu was a baby, and ends in the rainforest . Both scenes even have the same samba being sung.
 * Call Back:
 * Blu: I'm gonna pop this cage open like a soda can!
 * Blu: I'm not gonna let you go! We're chained to each other birds, remember?
 * Linda: That's my big, brave boy.
 * The Capital of Brazil Is Buenos Aires: Averted in every way possible. It helps that the director is Brazilian.
 * Except for the fact that they go the Brazil just in time for Carnival.
 * And for Jewel's Portuguese accent. And for the inaccurate Portuguese in the 'missing' poster for Blu (the word 'extensão' makes no sense in that context. The correct word would be 'ramal')
 * Captain Ersatz: Blu and Jewel are referred to as "Blue Macaws" instead of Spix's Macaws, as the latter name has Unfortunate Implications. Somewhat justified by a common nickname for the Spix's: Little Blue Macaw (which is also the translated Portuguese name of the bird). They do manage to sneak the real name in at one point (see Bilingual Bonus above).
 * Card-Carrying Villain: Nigel, complete with a Villain Song.
 * Carnivores Are Mean: Real-life cockatoos are omnivorous, and Nigel has no problem munching on a chicken leg or threatening to eat the smaller of the caged birds. There's no indication whatsoever if the heroic macaws (who are also omnivores in real life) would see canaries and red-crested cardinals as appetizers.
 * However, in this case it's rather justified, as Nigel actively uses this to frighten the other birds his owner has captured and is a Card-Carrying Villain.
 * The Cast Showoff: Recording artiste will.i.am and part-time singer Jamie Foxx getting singing bits may be obligatory, but Anne Hathaway?
 * Chained Heat: Blu and Jewel. Of course.
 * Chekhov's Gun: More of a Chekhov's Affliction with Luiz's uncontrollable drooling,
 * Chekhov's Song: Lionel Richie's Say You, Say Me.
 * Chekhov's Skill: Without the ability to fly, Blu had to practice other methods of locomotion. These skills come in handy later on.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Tulio sure likes to imitate birds.
 * Costume Porn: The carnival, in spades.
 * Although the actual carnival is just about the same, if not even more extravagant.
 * Crossover: There's a Rio-themed adaptation of Angry Birds, of all things.
 * Cute Bookworm: Linda.
 * Cute Little Fangs: The marmosets.
 * Dance Party Ending
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: Nigel demonstrates this ability upon capturing Jewel on the float:

Nigel: I don't need to find him. He'll find you."

""I know I'm not a pretty birdy. / *snap* MuaHAha!""
 * It does seem to desert him at the end
 * Deadpan Snarker: Jewel and Linda.
 * Death Glare: Tulio when he finds out who took Blu.
 * From both sides at the start of the "Birds vs Monkeys" fight.
 * Die or Fly: Rather literally, too, during the climax of the film.
 * The Dog Bites Back:
 * Don't Think, Feel: The key to Blu finally learning how to fly. (That, and ).
 * Downer Beginning
 * The Dragon: Nigel the Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo.

"Raphael: Yup, that's my boy!"
 * Dragon-in-Chief: And he turns out to be more intelligent, competent, and menacing than his master, to say nothing of his dim-witted goons.
 * Cockatoos are smart, temperamental, bitey, very easily become neurotic and are loud. They rather routinely outsmart people trying to control them in Australia, where they are often considered a pest. Imagining one as a villain is not much of a stretch at all.
 * Dub Name Change: In Brazil, Jewel is "Jade" to fit the Mouth Flaps better. In the Russian dub, Blu is called Golubchik (literally "little dove", usually used as an old-timey endearing form of address to a little kid by a much older person), and Jewel is Zhemchuzhinka ("little pearl").
 * Nigel becomes "Pepillo" in Mexican Spanish, while Jewel is now "Perla".
 * Earn Your Happy Ending:
 * Establishing Character Moment: Nigel's is forcing a tiny bird to pick bird meat out of his beak, just so he can try to snap the poor thing's leg off.
 * Everything Is Better With Monkeys / Maniac Monkeys: The pickpocket marmosets. They are nefarious, but still very amusing, and can be both tropes at once. Though they at first refused to work for Nigel,
 * Evil Laugh: Nigel has a rather annoying one.
 * Evilly Affable: Nigel seems polite in his speech, but it doesn't hide his Complete Monster status in the least, instead merely adding to his horror factor.
 * Evil Poacher: The Big Bad, Marcel; though to be fair he's not out to hurt them, just smuggle them out for money.
 * Fake Nationality: Averted by Rodrigo Santoro (Tulio), who is not only Brazilian but was born in Rio de Janeiro.
 * Fan Service: All those dancers in revealing bird suits are quite eye catchers.
 * Feathered Fiend: Nigel is the epitome of this trope.
 * Feather Fingers: Played straight with general wing gestures and Nico's use of his bottle-cap hat, although Blu, Jewel, and Nigel rely primarily on their feet when they actually need to manipulate objects.
 * Fish Out of Water: Blu, especially shown the first time he goes back to the jungle he was born in.
 * Five Bird Band:
 * The Chick: Good heavens, Blu -- at the start.
 * The Hero: Jewel the Action Girl of the movie. She's not interested in wooing, she's interested in escaping..
 * The Lancer: Rafael the Toco Toucan.
 * The Big Guy: The Red-Crested Cardinal, Pedro.
 * The Smart Guy: Nico the canary. He gets to strut his stuff in the
 * Blu also had shades of this. Most of the time, when he had only his wits to help him (that's to say a lot), he'll manage.
 * Team Pet: Luiz the bulldog.
 * Flashback Cut:
 * Blu experiences a flashback to his early days in Rio while almost involuntarily dancing to the beat in "Hot Wings I Wanna Party".
 * As Blu, he remembers how he fell out of his nest.
 * Flight of Romance: Blu and Jewel do this at the end of the movie.
 * Foreign Queasine: At the churrascaria - flambed chicken hearts. (Yes, that is a Brazilian delicacy). Interrupted by the
 * For the Evulz: Nigel's Villain Song has him list some things he does just for this. He also tortures the birds his owner have captive for fun.
 * Freudian Excuse: Nigel says he's evil because his superstar life-style was taken from him by a prettier bird, making him jealous of all the other "pretty birdies". He takes out this bitterness by helping his owner capture attractive birds and adding to their misery and fear at every opportunity.
 * Full Name Ultimatum: When Blu is refusing to take his vitamins Linda reveals that Blu is not actually his first name. "Tyler Blu Gunderson!"
 * Gaussian Girl: Jewel, repeatedly to Blu. It becomes a Running Gag when it happens to Linda, when first dressed as a macaw.
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar:
 * In a G-rated movie. One of the marmosets takes a Groin Attack, and spits out a pair of jewels.
 * "Holy Spit!/This place is the spit!", "Yippie-ki-yay, monkey-man!"
 * There's also Jewel performing the Heimlich on Blu. Although, it definitely doesn't look like the Heimlich.

"Blu: Oh, no, no! It's not what you think. We're just uh... chained together.
 * Nigel refers to himself as a "bird murderer" and also chloroforms a human. If you're paying attention you can see Nigel press a rag over the guy's mouth before the guy passes out.
 * This...interesting...little exchange:

Nico: Hey, I'm not judging you.

Pedro: Keep it spicy!"

"Jewel: I wouldn't expect a pet to understand.
 * Giggling Villain: Nigel.
 * Good Old Fashioned Fisticuffs: At one point, a marmoset strikes several kung-fu poses, only to be swiftly taken down by Raphael's beak.
 * Gory Discretion Shot: The camera cuts away just before
 * Green-Eyed Monster: Nigel's Villain Song reveals that part of the reason for his cruelty towards other birds is because he's jealous of their beauty (compared to his brutish appearance). This envy comes from being replaced as the star of a TV show by a far more attractive bird.
 * Groin Attack: Jewel gives one to the king of the marmosets with the chain holding her and Blu together.
 * Happily Adopted:.
 * Happily Ever After
 * Hikikomori: Technically, Blu. Since he was picked up by Linda, he's almost never been outdoors, and has trouble socializing with other birds.
 * Hartman Hips: Basically every female in the movie that isn't Linda, Jewel or another bird.
 * Helicopter Blender/Turbine Blender: An old-timey propeller plane in this case..
 * Henpecked Husband: Rafael the toucan, almost literally, by his Keel-Billed Toucan wife. Nonetheless he still does love her, willing to gladly sacrifice Carnival to spend time with her.
 * Hero Stole My Bike: Linda steals a carnival float.
 * High Altitude Interrogation: How Nigel "negotiates" with the monkey leader.
 * Aggressive Negotiations
 * I'm a Humanitarian: Nigel eats the meat of other birds -- not terribly unusual for a cockatoo. However, it's all squick to the mooks, terror for the smaller captured birds -- and he plays it up for all it's worth.
 * "I Am" Song: "Pretty Bird" serves as both this and a Villain Song for Nigel, as he explains his backstory and how delighted he is to be a villain.
 * Insistent Terminology:

Blu: Did you just call me a pet?! For your information, I'm not a pet; I am a companion."

"Blu: Not cool, man! Scary... but not cool!"
 * Instant Sedation: That chloroform-soaked rag Nigel used to incapacitate the guard must be pretty powerful.
 * It's Always Mardi Gras in New Orleans: Rio de Janeiro is preparing for the unavoidable carnival. (However, it is the right time of year for it.)
 * I Have You Now, My Pretty: Nigel particularly enjoys capturing and subduing Jewel, a lot.
 * Intellectual Animal: They can even talk to each other (but not the human cast)
 * I Was Quite a Looker: Stated by Nigel's Villain Song.
 * Kissing Discretion Shot: When Rafi kisses Eva, their beaks are partially hidden and the camera cuts away briefly.
 * Large Ham: Jemaine Clement as Nigel, the evil white cockatoo.
 * And in the Brazilian dub he is voiced by Guilherme Briggs, who is pretty much the Norio Wakamoto of Brazilian voice acting.
 * Last of His Kind: Jewel and Blu are the last of their kind.
 * Le Parkour: The marmosets' movement style was based on this, while their fighting style was based on Capoeira.
 * Made of Iron: Nigel survives flying face first into an electric line with enough force to knock out power to most of Rio de Janeiro with only a few burnt feathers.
 * Madness Mantra: The poor Military Macaw in the cage, spinning and repeating, "I'm a pretty bird!" (Also see the Fridge Horror entry).
 * Meganekko: Linda.
 * Monkey Morality Pose: It's easy to miss the marmosets' reaction when Nigel blackmails their leader -- an image of the same scene is included during the closing credits.
 * Mood Whiplash: The entire opening scene, about three times. Seriously.'
 * Musicalis Interruptus: There are more songs in the movie that are interrupted than are not. "Real in Rio", "Mas Que Nada", "Hot Wings (I Wanna Party)", "Fly Love" and "Funky Monkey" are all interrupted, and three of those five are non-comedic examples.
 * My Beloved Smother: While he never outright states it, Tulio does imply that it was Linda's doting that caused Blu to be so introverted and never learn to fly.
 * Nerd Glasses: Worn by Tulio and Linda.
 * Nerds Are Sexy: Tulio and Linda fit the bill.
 * Never Say Die: Averted, surprisingly for a G-Rated film. Jewel outright says they'll die if they can't escape the smugglers and Nigel refers to himself as a "bird murderer" in his Villain Song. Blu also says that he'd like to go five minutes without almost getting killed.
 * Never Trust a Trailer: The teaser trailer (which turned out to have just sampled a sequence directly from the film) made Rafael out to be a more prominent, important role than he actually is. Also, it made audiences think Blu is physically incapable of flight, when in fact he just needs more confidence.
 * Nice Hat: Nico's bottle cap hat.
 * No Infantile Amnesia: Blu does remember the song the jungle birds sang, as well as his fall from the nest from when he was little (the latter memory being the reason he doesn't know how to fly).
 * "No. Just... No" Reaction: Nigel's song number.

"Linda: We're doomed!"
 * Not Quite Dead:
 * Obfuscating Disability: Nigel
 * Oh Crap: Nigel gets one of these before
 * Only You Can Repopulate My Race: Played with. Blu mating with Jewel is the only way to save the species... except Blu is clearly awkward with the idea, and Jewel openly despises him. At first, that is.
 * Opposites Attract: Blu and Jewel really couldn't be more different than each other if they tried. Blu is a rather cowardly house pet who can't fly, Jewel is a brave Action Girl from the wild who had to be taught to run properly by Blu when they couldn't fly.
 * Pale Females, Dark Males: Blu is just a tad darker than Jewel.
 * This trope is also the case for many exotic birds in Real Life.
 * Inverted with Nigel. (Presumably, at least, since nothing is lighter than white.)
 * Playing Possum: Jewel and Blu try this to escape the Smugglers early in the film. Blu makes a Large Ham out of himself about it.
 * Police Are Useless: When trying to explain how Blu and Jewel were stolen, the guard demonstrates placing the chloroform-soaked rag over his mouth -- and promptly faints. The policeman examines it by sniffing, only to faint too.


 * The Power of Love: What allows Blu to finally fly.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Pedro is Red (literally), Nico is Blue (metaphorically). Seen especially clearly when they're both trying to give Blu advice on how to woo Jewel.
 * Real Men Wear Pink: Several tough guys, like Silvio the guard and Luiz the bulldog, love wearing silly costumes for the carnival.
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech: When Blu -- after proving a natural talent at samba dancing throughout the movie -- finally loses it and goes off about how much he hates samba. This leads into his Heroic BSOD and causes Nico to completely break down.
 * Jerkass Facade: He does this to dissuade himself from Jewel; it's heavily implied that Blu feels he is not good enough for her. Lampshaded by Rafael who told him to make decision with his heart, not his head.
 * Road Trip Romance
 * Scenery Porn: Rio de Janeiro and the surrounding forests are gorgeous.
 * Seldom-Seen Species: Toucans, red-crested cardinals, and many more exotic birds.
 * Greenwing and Blue-and-Gold and Military Macaws, oh my!
 * Blink and you'll miss it, but there was also a scarlet macaw during the bird clinic scene.
 * The movie makers went out of their way to depict birds native to Brazil.
 * And let's face it, it's not like there's a pile of movies depicting marmosets either.
 * She Cleans Up Nicely: Linda in the Carnival outfit. She wasn't ugly at all before, but in that outfit... oh my.
 * Shipper On Deck: Rafael, Nico and Pedro constantly try to pair Blu and Jewel, Rafael even commenting that Blu's the Romeo and Jewel's the Juliet.
 * Shout-Out: To Die Hard of all things. . Doubles as an Incredibly Lame Pun.
 * Twice, even. "Yippie-ki-yay, monkey-man!"
 * Nico throws his bottle cap as if it was a mighty shield. It even comes back to his hand after stunning a monkey.
 * After interrogating it for Blu and Jewel's destination, Nigel hurls a small, round bird into a pile of boxes and crates. Keep in mind the crossover release of Angry Birds Rio.
 * Furthermore, blink and you're miss it, but upon entering the bird clinic, a small round red bird with heavily dark eyes- almost perfect for the iconic main bird of Angry Birds- flies across the screen, followed shortly by three smaller round blue birds all together.
 * Another one to the Paulie Shore movie 'In The Army Now', with Blu's "spider on my back" being uncannily similar to the scorpion scene, except in the jungle and done by birds with a different arachnid.
 * When Tulio attempts to ride the motorcycle and fails, take a look just underneath the graffiti that says "Re!". You'll see the safe house emblem from Left 4 Dead.
 * After nearly getting killed for the twelve-millionth time in the past ten minutes, Jewel saying that "I'm gonna chew through my own leg soon if this [chain] doesn't come off" brings to mind, of all things, Saw-- or perhaps 127Hours.
 * Shown Their Work:
 * Blu is an almost perfectly modeled Spix's Macaw, down to the iris color -- see for yourself. The Spix's Macaw is also now extinct in the wild, and there's an active captive breeding program to increase their numbers.
 * A few other birds (Red-Crested Cardinal, Toco Toucan) are based on birds common around Rio. The Spix's Macaw was also found around there.
 * At one point, Nigel is seen eating bird meat, something real cockatoo sometimes do.
 * That football match that keeps the citizens of Rio glued to their TVs is, judging by the flags shown for a second, between Brazil and Argentina - one of the great rivalries.
 * Smug Snake: Nigel is extremely fond of himself and regards everyone but his master as complete morons.
 * Something Else Also Rises:
 * When Tulio first sees Linda in the (surprisingly revealing) macaw costume she is wearing for the parade, fireworks start going off in the distance behind him.
 * Blu's reaction to being kissed by Jewel is to extend his wings erect.
 * Somewhere an Ornithologist Is Crying: for all their Shown Their Work moments, the team couldn't get everything right:
 * All of the parrots in the film are only three-toed; they lack the second backward-pointing toe in the zygodactyl foot.
 * The baby macaws seem conspicuously well-fledged given the (highly exaggerated) head:body ratio.
 * This is probably just to make them cute for all audiences, rather than the Ugly Cute that only an avian enthusiast would love.
 * At one point, Blu implies that he is capable of "peeing". However, bird cannot "pee" as such; liquid and solid wastes are excreted from the cloaca together.
 * All Parrots are Cockatoos. Macaws, Conures, even non-parrot Toucans, they all have strange crest-like head feathers. Made doubly weird because the animators obviously knew how cockatoo crests work.
 * Those head feathers were probably given to be like "hair", so the birds have more distinct appearances.
 * At one point, Blu is fed hot chocolate. Problem? Chocolate is poisonous to birds.
 * In the opening scene, while Blu is in a nest inside a den (accurately for parrots), there's a family of yellow parrots who have a cup-shaped nest on a branch.
 * Spiteful Spit: Jewel does this to one of the marmosets when they attack the avian samba club. Subverted after that that Blu tries to do the same too, but fails miserably.
 * Stealth Pun: When Marcel tells his goons to feed Nigel, they decide by playing Rock, Paper, Scissors, saying: "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Then later on when deciding who should take the last parachute, the goons go "Rock, paper, scissors..." then Marcel cuts in saying: "Chute!" as he gets it for himself.
 * Rafael, Nico and Pedro make it their job to set the mood for Blu and Jewel. What are guys like that normally called? Wingmen.
 * Street Urchin: Fernando.
 * Surrounded By Idiots: Marcel is infuriated by his goons' stupidity and remarks that Nigel the cockatoo is ten times more intelligent than both of them combined. And he's pretty much correct in that statement.
 * Nigel feels this way about the marmosets
 * Those Two Guys: Pedro and Nico.
 * Fat and Skinny.
 * Those Two Bad Guys: Marcel's two incompetent goons.
 * Also Fat and Skinny.
 * And Salt and Pepper
 * Took a Level In Badass: Blu's badassery progresses throughout the movie. Also Linda, who goes from a timid bookstore owner to a woman willing to, and Tulio, who actively aids Linda in her exploits.
 * Toothy Bird: Averted. The birds are perfectly expressive with their beaks.
 * Somewhat Lampshaded: Blu still made a point of brushing his beak. It was an important ritual for his person, so he did it too.
 * Trail of Bread Crumbs:
 * Triumphant Reprise: "Real in Rio", while an upbeat song about life, love and fun, is brutally cut short when the birds are taken by the smugglers. "Real in Rio (Reprise)" is another upbeat song about life, love and fun, and this time.
 * Truth in Television: We get a few bird facts shoved in by Blu. (Also see Shown Their Work above).
 * Tsundere: Jewel.
 * Typecasting: Guilherme Briggs, the Brazilian voice of Nigel, had also voiced another Blue Sky villain: Phineas T. Ratchet (in Brazil Dom Aço, literally "Don Steel") from Robots.
 * Of course, he doesn't always voice villains: he's voiced Freakazoid, Superman and Coop, but one who knows his work really cannot deny that he shines real bright as a villain (hence the parallel with Norio Wakamoto up above)
 * Villain Song: Nigel gets one called "Pretty Bird". He states he used to be rather beautiful until he got replaced and is now a Card-Carrying Villain.
 * Wasted Song: The fantastic love song "Fly Love", sung by Jamie Foxx's character Niko, is almost completely lost beneath the scene's dialogue, except for the signature whistling part. (Of course, it's present on the soundtrack, thankfully).
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?: Blu's anti-samba rant makes everyone cringe. Nico even breaks down crying.