Nigel the Cockatoo Will Survive in the New 'Rio 2' Trailer
Flight of the Conchords, the musical duo from the HBO comedy series, is not an act you’d generally call label “kid-friendly.” Yet the two New Zealanders who make up the Grammy-winning folk-rap team each have a successful side gig working on big family films.
Bret McKenzie — the shorter one — won an Oscar for writing the song “Man or Muppet” for 2011’s “The Muppets.” And his tall, bespectacled partner, Jemaine Clement — who sings one of McKenzie’s compositions in the current “Muppets Most Wanted” — both provides the voice and co-writes the lyrics for Nigel the evil cockatoo in 2011’s animated hit “Rio” and it’s upcoming sequel, “Rio 2.”
One of the standout moments from the first “Rio” was the song “Pretty Bird,” in which Nigel explained his evil scheme through rap while holding the heroic macaws Blu and Jewel (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway) hostage. Clement co-wrote the music and lyrics for the tune, which he also performed. So naturally, for the sequel, Clement was called up to produce another showstopper.
At the start of “Rio 2,” Nigel, a former TV star, finds himself at the bottom of the show-business barrel as an avian assistant to a street performer. Yearning to return to the spotlight, he auditions in disguise (note the “Phantom of the Opera”-style mask) for a show put on by Blu’s friends. And there he breaks out into his own take on Gloria Gaynor’s disco classic “I Will Survive,” complete with new lyrics by Clement and screenwriter Yoni Brenner.
Clement explains that in the sequel, Nigel is torn between his two passions: performing and being a villain. He says, “He is still evil but Nigel really wants to return to acting. Sometimes that can affect his focus on evil-doing.” He does get a combination henchwoman-slash-admirer in the form of Gabi, a poisonous tree frog voiced by Kristin Chenoweth. The Tony-winner says, “Gabi will do whatever it takes to keep Nigel safe and happy and where he belongs, which is on the stage.”
Clement, of course, belongs on stage as well. He and McKenzie reunited the Conchords last year to tour with Dave Chappelle on the Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival. And he stars in and co-directs a decidedly not-for-kids vampire movie “What We Do in the Shadows,” which premiered at Sundance. So while Nigel the bird may be grounded, the Conchords will surely soar again.
“Rio 2" opens on Apr. 11.
