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Entertainment & Arts

‘Rio’: love letter to a Brazilian city

"The city has a personality of its own, the mountains and the ocean so dramatically on top of each other," Saldanha said. "You have this concrete jungle meeting the real jungle." Photo: A view of Pico Pan de Azucar, or Sugarloaf, the huge torpedo rock that emerges from Guanabara Bay off the Rio coast.

“The city has a personality of its own, the mountains and the ocean so dramatically on top of each other,” Saldanha said. “You have this concrete jungle meeting the real jungle.”

Photo: A view of Pico Pan de Azucar, or Sugarloaf, the huge torpedo rock that emerges from Guanabara Bay off the Rio coast.  (Douglas Engle / LATINPHOTO.org,)

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In the new animated movie ‘Rio,’ a macaw finds his wings. Rio de Janeiro is an inseparable element of the storytelling. Director Carlos Saldanha talks about trolley cars, Christ the Redeemer and Carnival.

Christ the Redeemer

“Architecturally and visually [the statue is] such a unique place,” Saldanha said.  (Dado Galdieri / Associated Press)

Rio de Janeiro's trolley rides

The yellow trolley cars are a recognizable touchstone from South America’s oldest tramway.

Photo: Revelers walk along a yellow tramcar in the historic Santa Teresa neighborhood during the Heaven on Earth street parade. The parade helps usher in Brazil’s famous Carnival.  (Felipe Dana / Associated Press)

Carnival

The music in “Rio” — including a new recording of Sergio Mendes’ classic bossa nova hit “Mas Que Nada” and “Hot Wings (I Wanna Party)” by Will.i.am — was as important to Saldanha as the sites in creating an authentic sense of place. “Music is our most recognizable cultural export,” Saldanha said. “Samba, funk, rap — I wanted it to be a score that would take me to Rio.”  (Vanderlei Almeida / AFP / Getty Images)

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