Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
(C+ or 2.5/4 stars)
Inspired by the beloved children's book, 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs', this animated film (directed by Phil Lord & Chris Miller) focuses on a faraway town where food falls from the sky like rain. The story follows a young inventor named Flint (voiced by Bill Hader), who dreams of creating something significant. Unfortunately, Flint's loving, & supportive mom dies young. His dad (voiced by James Caan), a man who runs a sardine shop, isn't that close with his son. And his early inventions (spray-on shoes, remote-TVs, & flying cars) haven't really worked out. All that changes, however, when he creates a machine that converts water into food! The reason for his creating this machine stems from the fact that his hometown, Swallow Falls (a remote place located just under the "A" in Atlantic Ocean on the map), has become overrun by sardines.
Once known as the Sardine Capital of the World, the demand for them finally went down, & the townsfolk realized that sardines are ... well, gross. After plugging his machine into the town's main power grid, it explodes into the sky, & sucks-in the moisture from the clouds; thus, creating food of all forms that shower on the town below. Things are great for a while. Everyone's happy; including the gluttonous town mayor (voiced by Bruce Campbell). Wondrous foods are being eaten. Ice cream snow fights are breaking out, etc. And Flint hits it off with a perky weathergirl who's covering the food phenomenon (voiced by the wonderful Anna Faris). But of course, there wouldn't be a movie without some form of conflict. The conflict: Flint's food invention goes out of control; creating disastrous weather effects all over the globe. Can it be stopped? Will the world be saved? And what will our characters have learned along the way?
I personally found 'Cloudy ... Meatballs' to be a mixed bag of a movie. The proceedings are fun for fun's-sake. Goofy & joyful. I got a real kick out of watching food of all shapes, sizes, & textures rain down onto Swallow Falls. There is intelligence in the screenplay. Plenty of jokes are well-observed, & quite funny. There is some semblance of characterization among the principal players. I enjoyed the voice-over work. i.e., Neil Patrick Harris as the monkey, & Mr. T as a local cop. And my immediate recognition of Anna Faris' voice impressed even me (who is atrocious at picking out voice-acting in animated films, haha). But the most impressive aspect of the film IS the animation. Simply put, it's fantastic; full of vibrant, bright colors & textures (people, food, sight gags, foregrounds, & backgrounds). And a boisterous musical score aided the proceedings. Taken at face value, 'Cloudy ...' is a good film to take the kiddies to.
ALL that said, the film becomes increasingly manic, loud, & formulaic as it goes. You knew exactly where it was going, & how it would finish 20 minutes before it's conclusion. I really enjoyed the 1st half of the film. But after the halfway mark, I was fairly spent. The characters get loonier, the story becomes monotonous, the music gets louder, the sound coming from the theater speakers start to clang, & the dazzling, eye-popping visions (which entranced me early on) become overwhelming. Inventive? Yes, but overwhelming. If the filmmakers were trying to make a statement about obesity/junk food, I couldn't decipher it. And big, extended action sequences filmed in animation just don't work for me. Kids will eat it up (pun intended). Adults will appreciate portions of it (pun intended). And the aforementioned humor went a long way. I just think that my childhood innocence (when viewing a for-the-kids cartoon, such as this) ran dry after a while.
Once known as the Sardine Capital of the World, the demand for them finally went down, & the townsfolk realized that sardines are ... well, gross. After plugging his machine into the town's main power grid, it explodes into the sky, & sucks-in the moisture from the clouds; thus, creating food of all forms that shower on the town below. Things are great for a while. Everyone's happy; including the gluttonous town mayor (voiced by Bruce Campbell). Wondrous foods are being eaten. Ice cream snow fights are breaking out, etc. And Flint hits it off with a perky weathergirl who's covering the food phenomenon (voiced by the wonderful Anna Faris). But of course, there wouldn't be a movie without some form of conflict. The conflict: Flint's food invention goes out of control; creating disastrous weather effects all over the globe. Can it be stopped? Will the world be saved? And what will our characters have learned along the way?
I personally found 'Cloudy ... Meatballs' to be a mixed bag of a movie. The proceedings are fun for fun's-sake. Goofy & joyful. I got a real kick out of watching food of all shapes, sizes, & textures rain down onto Swallow Falls. There is intelligence in the screenplay. Plenty of jokes are well-observed, & quite funny. There is some semblance of characterization among the principal players. I enjoyed the voice-over work. i.e., Neil Patrick Harris as the monkey, & Mr. T as a local cop. And my immediate recognition of Anna Faris' voice impressed even me (who is atrocious at picking out voice-acting in animated films, haha). But the most impressive aspect of the film IS the animation. Simply put, it's fantastic; full of vibrant, bright colors & textures (people, food, sight gags, foregrounds, & backgrounds). And a boisterous musical score aided the proceedings. Taken at face value, 'Cloudy ...' is a good film to take the kiddies to.
ALL that said, the film becomes increasingly manic, loud, & formulaic as it goes. You knew exactly where it was going, & how it would finish 20 minutes before it's conclusion. I really enjoyed the 1st half of the film. But after the halfway mark, I was fairly spent. The characters get loonier, the story becomes monotonous, the music gets louder, the sound coming from the theater speakers start to clang, & the dazzling, eye-popping visions (which entranced me early on) become overwhelming. Inventive? Yes, but overwhelming. If the filmmakers were trying to make a statement about obesity/junk food, I couldn't decipher it. And big, extended action sequences filmed in animation just don't work for me. Kids will eat it up (pun intended). Adults will appreciate portions of it (pun intended). And the aforementioned humor went a long way. I just think that my childhood innocence (when viewing a for-the-kids cartoon, such as this) ran dry after a while.