Meanwhile, Blu's owner Linda and her husband Túlio are on an expedition in the Amazon and, after falling down a waterfall, discover a blue Spix's macaw that loses a feather.

Big Boss, who leads a group of illegal loggers, discovers Linda and Túlio's expedition to find the macaws and orders his henchmen to hunt them down.

Having lost their previous habitat to arson from the loggers, Eduardo does not trust humans, and brushes off Blu's suggestion to expose the sanctuary to Linda and Túlio to ensure their protection.

Blu decides to leave Linda and his human roots behind him for his family's sake, but after witnessing the loggers' destruction of the forest, he returns and rallies the flock, reconciling with Jewel and Eduardo.

Eduardo drops his anti-human stance and accepts Blu into the flock, Nigel and Gabi are sent back to Rio for study and Nico and Pedro's Carnival show, Amazon Untamed, goes on.

On January 25, 2012, while speaking to the Associated Press, Sérgio Mendes who co-wrote a song for the first film spoke about the sequel, saying: "I think the plan is for the movie to come three or four months before the World Cup.

[18] In October 2012, Variety stated that Carlos Saldanha had officially signed a five-year deal with 20th Century Fox that allows him to helm live-action and/or animated films, with the sequel being part of that contractual agreement.

[19] Screenwriter Don Rhymer died from complications relating to his head and neck cancer positive diagnosis on November 28, 2012, while working on the film.

[23] Entertainer Bruno Mars joined the cast as Roberto after director Carlos Saldanha caught his performance on Saturday Night Live.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Like most sequels, Rio 2 takes its predecessor's basic template and tries to make it bigger – which means it's even busier, more colorful, and ultimately more exhausting for viewers outside the youthful target demographic.

The only frustrating thing is that it feels very much like a by-the-numbers sequel, lacking the verve, ebullience and left-field humour that made 2011’s Rio such a surprise hit.

"[41] Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter said, "This rumble in the jungle adds a colorful cast of rain-forest creatures to the franchise's infectious sense of frivolity.

"[42] Justin Chang of Variety said, "Domestic and ecological dramas abound in this bright, noisy, overstuffed sequel to Fox's 2011 surprise hit.

"[43] Tom Huddleston of Time Out gave the film three out of five stars, saying "There are problems here ... but the characterisation is feisty and memorable, the song-and-dance sequences intricate and colourful, and it'll charm the socks off little people.

"[44] Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film two out of four stars, saying "Rio 2 teems with colorful animated splendor and elaborate musical numbers, but its rambling, hectic, if good-hearted, story is for the birds.

"[45] Richard Corliss of Time gave the film a positive review, saying "Even when it's coarse and calculating, this is an eager entertainment machine that will keep the kids satisfied.

"[47] Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film two out of four stars, saying "It's like the last Hobbit movie - so much time passes between side plots that you have to jog the memory when a minor character appears again.

"[53] Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times gave the film a negative review, saying "The cinematic equivalent of attack by kaleidoscope, Rio 2 sucks you in and whirls you around before spitting you out, exhausted.

"[57] Liam Lacey of The Globe and Mail gave the film three out of four stars, saying "Rio 2 (like Fox’s Ice Age series) relies on derivative plotting and slapstick visual gags, in contrast to Pixar’s more cerebral originality.

"[60] Steve Persall of the Tampa Bay Times gave the film a B+, saying "Like its peppy predecessor, Rio 2 doesn't look or sound like other animated licenses to print money.

"[62] Mike McCahill of The Guardian gave the film two out of five stars, saying "It's hard to ascribe much art or wit to a franchise that retains the services of will.i.am as comic relief – and a thoroughly inorganic talent-show subplot feels like another attempt to groom youngsters for life in the Cowell jungle.

20th Century Fox's sequel to the already dubious 2011 film would seem far too endlessly hyperventilating and self-stimulating a way to keep kids from barreling toward a spaz attack on a Saturday afternoon.

[88] In an interview with Brazilian news site Veja, when asked about the possibility of a third film, Saldanha stated that he was working on an unknown project to make [it] happen.

[7] In January 2022, after the acquisition of 20th Century Fox by Disney, it was announced that a new installment in the Rio franchise for Disney+ is officially in development, with Ray DeLaurentis writing the screenplay.