This family movie is lots of fun for all ages! Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is based on a childrens book written in 1978 by Judi Barret and illustrated by Ron Barrett. Sony Animation made this legendary book come to life and did a surprisingly good job.
Flint Lockwood (voiced by Bill Hader) is a quirky young inventor who, since childhood, has always attempted an invention to make the world a better place. When Flint creates an invention that turns water into food and accidentally rockets into the atmosphere, the town will never be the same again. Tasty food falls from the sky and the town loves it! Anna Faris is the voice for Sam Sparks, a young new weather reporter sent to Flint’s town to report on this phenomenon. When the town becomes greedy and requests more and more food, Flint’s invention goes haywire and food miraculously grows larger and more chaotic. Spaghetti twisters….giant pancakes…meatball hail…and the list continues. Flint, Sam, and their brave crew fight the food frenzy and end up saving the town and the world! The movie includes great voices that include James Caan, Andy Samburg, Mr. T, Neil Patrick Harris, and Benjamin Bratt (just to name a few!)
I was able to see this movie with a 10-year-old so I was able to get a good perspective of how a kid sees this movie. She thought that it was pretty funny and I heard her laughing throughout the entire movie. She said it wasn’t the best animated movie she had ever seen, but she thought it was pretty funny. (She mentioned that Ice Age II was better!)
I thought the movie was written to entertain children and adults. I found myself chuckling throughout the movie and most importantly, the plot kept moving! The animation looked pretty good, but maybe not as up to par as some recent Pixar or Disney flicks. I forgot to mention that we saw this movie in 3-D. Again, pretty amazing all things considered, but maybe not as cool as some other 3-D movies I have seen. I would have been satisfied with seeing this movie in 2-D…probably not worth the extra bucks to see it in 3-D. I would give Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 3.5 stars. If you have a special little someone to take to the movies then this is a good pick. Definitely worth the rent when it comes out, but it may not be a movie that you will regret not seeing in the theaters.
