1 hr 34 min – Unrated (recommended for adults only). Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Here’s that rarity – an animated film for grown-ups. Cuba, 1948. Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful, sexy singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and desire unite them as they chase their dreams and each other from Havana to New York to Paris, Hollywood and Las Vegas. With an original soundtrack by legendary Cuban pianist and five-time Grammy-winning composer Bebo Valdés, Chico & Rita captures a defining moment in the evolution of history and jazz, and features the music of (and animated cameos by) Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Cole Porter, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Tito Puente and others. “Swooningly beautiful ‘Chico and Rita' beguiles first and foremost as a bebop romance that evokes a bygone era as well as, or maybe even better than, ‘The Artist.’” –Lou Lumenick, N.Y. Post
