The main character Blu is the last male of his species, the Spix's macaw. He was brought from his home in Rio de Janeiro by smugglers as a young bird and now lives with the bookseller Linda in Minnesota. One day, the ornithologist Tulio comes to the small town of Moose Lake and explains to Linda that Blu is needed to save his species. Linda agrees and flies with Blu to Rio de Janeiro. Once there, Blu is placed in an aviary with his last member of his species, the freedom-loving, rebellious Jewel, whose thoughts have nothing to do with saving her species but solely with escape. At night, the two macaws are stolen by the street boy Fernando with the help of the yellow-crested cockatoo Nigel and taken to bird smugglers. From there they are able to escape, although Blu has to confess to Jewel that he has never learned to fly. With the help of Rafael, the giant toucan, whom they meet in the jungle, they set off to find Luiz, a bulldog who is supposed to help them get rid of the chains that are chaining Jewel and Blu together so that they can go their separate ways. On the way they meet Pedro, the cardinal and his buddy, Nico, the yellow-bellied serf, who accompany them from now on. Rafael, Pedro and Nico keep trying to bring the unlikely pair together. The head of the smuggling gang does not want to let the animals go under any circumstances because they want to get rich. So he sends Nigel to recapture them. During the film, Blu has to face an inner conflict (whether Minnesota is his true home), a gang of thieving marmoset monkeys and his fear of flying. After reaching Luiz and the chains are removed, Jewel flies high into the air and whirls around with the others up there, while Blu can only watch them from the ground. He then storms off in frustration, but Jewel tries to stop him. An argument ensues. They head in opposite directions. Jewel, who wants to fly far away to suppress her pain, is picked up in the air by Nigel and immediately taken to the bird smugglers. The eyewitnesses Nico and Pedro, who immediately fly to Blu, who is looking for his owner Linda accompanied by Rafael, tell him about the kidnapping. Blu rushes with Pedro, Nico, Rafael and Luiz to rescue his girlfriend, who is being held captive in a parade float in the hustle and bustle of the carnival. There they run into Linda and Tulio, disguised as Spix's macaws, who Blu and Jewel thought were there. Blu decides to free Jewel first, however. Blu and his feathered friends are also captured and, locked in cages, are loaded onto a small plane at the airport. Linda, who has stolen a parade float and is rushing to the airport with Tulio, arrives seconds too late and the plane takes off. On the way, Blu is able to break open his cage and the cages of the other trapped animals, as he has no difficulty opening locking devices. The birds all escape, while Blu and Jewel are held back by Nigel. During the final fight, in which Blu finally defeats Nigel, Jewel's wing is broken. Jewel, now unable to fly, falls out of the plane. Blu jumps after her out of love and, in the last few meters before impact, manages to spread his wings and save himself and Jewel by finally flying. With Jewel in his claws, he flies back to the airfield, where Linda is still sobbing in Tulio's arms; she had already lost all hope. In the end, Linda stays with Tulio in Rio, they take in Fernando and work together as animal rights activists. Blu and Jewel have now started a family.