Chico & Rita

It's hot and sweet and made with inspiration and cheek. And it is not your children's animated fare -- which, in this case, is a recommendation.

This is the kind of sophisticated storytelling you rarely get even in live-action movies any more, full of unexpected turns and unruly human complications.

You've never seen anything like Chico & Rita, simply because that jubilant palette and likeminded jazz soundtrack embraces its predictability with such vitality.

A delightful blend of hand-drawn animation and CG style that'll be soul food for hopeless romantics everywhere.

This sexy, pulpy, very grown-up film is not your usual best animated feature material.

The boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl-and-turns-heartbreak-into-great-art plot is as hoary as they come, but Mariscal's eye-popping artwork and the evocation of a bygone musical era (Charlie Parker at the Village Vanguard, Tito Puente at the Palladium) are delirious.

A shallow romanticization of Batista-era Cuba -- when the nation was a tropical paradise for the delectation of American jetsetters -- and what the revolution left in its wake.

A proof that animated films are not just for kids but for adults as well. This is the film that should have won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. I like Rango but it wasn't anything spectacular compared to this. Pretty much one of the best romantic films I have ever seen. It's portrayal of the early 50's is breathtaking, its design is unique, the animation, though simple, is full of life and energy and allows the simplest facial expression become a legit emotional feeling, the two leads are realistic, charming, complex and have an unrivalled chemistry and the music is authentic and timeless. I honestly couldn't see this as a live action film as it wouldn't capture the emotion and expression that the animation allows into the love story. I am in love with this film. Great story, great characters, great animation, great music. If you love romance films, don't ever pass this up on DVD.

I may not be very stunned by this movie as i was from a foreign animated movie with "The Illusionist" but this still was extremely dazzling, amazing and quite charming movie. An adult animated movie with a classic romantic story over the span of life time and places with deep cultural roots and lovely jazz dazzle to it, this is a good movie to watch.

I very much enjoyed the latin music played in this film, both in the background and during live performances depicted on screen. This is more a music film than anything else, although it is clearly an animated film as well. I quite liked the old fashioned style of animation featured too - there is a certain nostalgic sense to it. The plot is a bit cliched I suppose but its a pretty easy watch and I found it pretty entertaining regardless, with enjoyable music and animation, as I say and so on that basis, I would recommend it, yes. Oh and perhaps its worth pointing out that it is a slightly more adult animation, in that there are sex scenes depicted, so its not suitable for viewing by particularly young audiences. The dialogue is mostly in Spanish, so its a world cinema film - that may or may not put you off (there were subtitles on the Blu-Ray disk I viewed).

"Chico & Rita" offers a beautiful and charming moment. Trueba brings a fantastic old story about love. "Chico & Rita" is like "Porgy & Bess" with latin sounds and excellent honor to Bebo Valdés. "Chico & Rita" and "Wrinckles" are newest beginning of Spanish animation cinema history. Soundtrack is faboulous, plot is solvent and directing is correct. Azúcar!!

A Golden Diva’s Tragedy: The Bitter Aftertaste of a Esquires Love250210 (2.2)Is it the destiny of a talented diva to fall for a fool? The radiant Rita La Belle sacrificed her entire life to a world-class loafer. While the music and animation are humanistic classics, the drama itself feels unnecessarily dated and frustrating. Set against the backdrop of 1940s and 50s Cuba and New York, the film follows Chico, a brilliant pianist, and Rita, a singer with a voice that captures the soul. Their journey begins with "Bésame Mucho" and a passionate one-night stand, but Chico is a character defined by toxic infidelity and a fragile ego. Despite already having a girlfriend, Juana, Chico pursues Rita only to lash out violently when his own pride is wounded by her professional success.Rita eventually leaves for New York to become "Rita La Belle" under the guidance of producer Ron, but Chico remains a constant, destructive shadow. He sneaks into New York, working odd jobs while gaslighting Rita about her Hollywood ambitions—this, despite his own desperate desire for American fame. The protagonist is genuinely repellant: he is a serial cheater who treats women like toys and resorts to violence when his lack of ability is exposed. He even harasses Rita until she cries, only to immediately go off and laugh at a jazz performance. As Rita’s star rises in Hollywood and Las Vegas, Chico continues to sabotage her happiness, reacting with explosive jealousy over her rumors with other actors while he himself frolics across Europe with other women. He even renames the song he dedicated to her after his dog, **** tragedy peaks in Las Vegas, where Rita abandons her career to marry him, only for Chico to be deported for drug possession. Rita, spiraling into alcoholism and lashing out at the racism of the industry, ends up working as a maid in a cheap motel called Eden Roc for 47 years, waiting for the man who never returned. Meanwhile, Chico eventually finds late-career success during a world tour after a stint as a shoeshine boy in post-revolutionary Cuba. When they finally reunite after nearly five decades, the sheer ingratitude of Chico—who lived his life to the fullest while Rita withered in a motel room—makes the ending feel more like a stomach-turning injustice than a romance. The animation and the era of Charlie Parker and Chano Pozo are beautifully rendered, but the central character is a piece of trash that ruins the melody.