Naivety at its Finest

Blue Sky Studios’ 2011 film Rio was a beautiful film—the picture was spectacular, but the characters, the plot, and the music were just as colorful. I enjoyed the film when I first saw it, but a few flags went up in a couple areas.


Rio’s main time plot takes place the day before Rio de Janeiro’s massive Carnival party. Therefore, the first and foremost issue that caught my eye was the outfits of the women in a few different scenes, particularly in the end.

One of the characters, Tulio, explains to his American friend Linda that Carnival is “the biggest party in the world. A time to have fun and dance.” I assumed from this film that this was true. Carnival is really just a big party where people dress up and celebrate their Brazilian culture and have fun with friends and family.

Boy, was I fooled.

My parents were disgusted with the children film’s focus on Carnival, and I honestly didn’t understand what the issue with the movie was. It didn’t seem like a big deal; the movie was good, aside from the character immodesty in some areas.

But it goes so much deeper than immodesty.

Carnival is no mere party to simply have “fun” and “dance”. Sure those things might happen. But that is not the focus. Carnival really is a party, but in reality it promotes all things ungodly, immoral and staunchly unrighteous.

Condoms given out freely in the streets; floats colorfully and unabashedly decorated to glorify man, man’s body, man’s lust; songs written and outfits worn to glorify the prince of this world and spit in the face of the Creator who made the universe.

Carnival is disgusting, shameless, repugnant.

So why, if I might ask a rhetorical question to Blue Sky Studios, is this promoted in a children’s film? Granted the film played down on Carnival to a great extent and the most evil that was shown was skimpy outfits (teaching little girls that it is okay to wear basically nothing, mind you), but regardless, why is it okay to throw cultural information in the face of young people when it is strictly vile cultural information?

I will be honest: Carnival fascinated me before I knew better. I was simple-minded, naïve. I did not do so, but had I searched Google to see the “pretty pictures” of the party, I would have had a big dosage of pornography in my face. I can guarantee it.

I thank God every day for parents who tell me when something is wrong. They point out problems that are in the world and they reveal to me when film directors are trying to buy me into the idea that something is okay and acceptable. Because I am such a movie freak, I am easily pulled into the picture and the story of a movie. Oh, but a movie is so much more than the technology and the actors, isn’t it?

So, in application: don’t be naïve. Just because it is a cartoon does not mean that its content is okay. Do not assume that a director’s work is completely pure or meant for children’s eyes. The bottom line is that we need to be aware that there is sin in the world and there are going to be promotions for that sin everywhere.

My naivety almost cost me. Don’t be naïve. Don’t be bought.