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DVD Review: “Americano” Is Too Busy To Enjoy

[yasr_overall_rating]
 

A Mexican parrot named Cuco sets off on an adventure to defend his family.

While this cartoon movie has a couple of redeeming qualities, I had a very hard time watching without my eyes glazing over. The back of the cover claims the movie is only 88 minutes, but I think it was closer to four or five hours. My children sat through the whole movie, which is good because they filled me in on the spots where my eyes glazed over. They seemed to enjoy it, despite asking me to mute the sound when any songs came on. The cartoon shifts back and forth uncomfortably between Spanish and English, and as I can maybe say a handful of Spanish words (most of them food related), I found this to be very frustrating. Children might pick up languages quickly, so this could be a plus. Especially for children who are already bilingual.

What cracked me up about this bird-based kids film was the dad bird saying to keep the acts for their family circus simple, while the actual movie is all over the map. Okay, not the whole map, just Mexico, and America, but the plot could have used a little less chaos. Little bird, Cuco, wants his father to liven up the traditional family circus acts with a bit more pizazz and throw in some of the super stunts his favorite actor, Americano manages to fit into his show. Dad’s arch enemy shows up to take back the circus cape Cuco’s dad won fair and square with a circus showdown. Cuco manages to convince his parents to try some of the spectacular stunts from Americano that end up injuring daddy bird.

To save the cape, Cuco goes on an adventure with a couple of other bird sidekicks to see if they can convince Americano to perform the circus act and save the amazing cape. Now the birds are on a road trip to America. I enjoyed the little spoof on customs, where the agent was a stern Eagle. Beyond that, it was just a crazy ride to Hollywood and seeking help from a bunch of misfits in the hunt for the infamous Americano. When Cuco finally finds his legendary hero, he is less than impressed with the man who didn’t even perform his own stunts. The journey did manage to give the little guy the confidence he needed to be able to save the cape for his beloved father.

The film is just too busy. Also, I failed to connect with a cast full of birds incapable of picking a language. I think the makers of this film were trying to ride on the wings of the hit movie “Rio,” but the difference is, this movie only kept to one species and was too convoluted. The plot was ridiculous, I mean it’s a cape. Is it made of gold? Nope. Sure it’s a family heirloom, but the plot just doesn’t make any sense. The only decent aspect of the movie was the bilingual element (which may have annoyed me but I could see other parents appreciating), and the message about family tradition sometimes needing a tuneup with new ideas. Beyond these, the film failed to even sync the voices properly with the beaks. I would suggest leaving this movie on the shelf at the store. If it shows up on TV or Netflix go ahead and let your kids watch it while you mop the kitchen and scrub the oven, you will enjoy cleaning more than the show.

Available on DVD, Digital HD & On Demand Tuesday, June 13th

 

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