Cloudy with a chance of fun

When Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs hit the cinema screens in 2009, it made my top animated movies list. It was witty, inventive, funny and had likeable characters.

When I heard a sequel was to be released, I really hoped that it wouldn’t undercut everything that was great about the original … fortunately for me, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is just as entertaining as its predecessor.

The movie isn’t pretending to be the best-animated movie out there. It strays away from the photo realistic animations that animators strive to achieve, but is still visually stunning. It knows it’s a film that is used to keep kids distracted for an hour-and-a-half and it’s OK with it!

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 embraces a world only an animator would think of. It works with its creativity and is a great film for the kids (as well as anyone who appreciates cuteness, creativity and a stellar storyline).
Kids, take note, there’s a lot of lessons to be learned from the movie. How to build true friendships (with humans and fresh produce), how to always stick with family and how loyalty is the most important aspect of a relationship.

Although this was also highlighted in the original movie, it is further emphasised this time around and shoves it in your face … the movie is definitely targeting a younger audience.

The sequel picks up just seconds after where its predecessor left off. The young, energetic inventor Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) is finally being recognised as a scientist after creating the Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator (FLDSMDFR for short), which turns water into giant food items.

The invention goes out of control but when it’s seemingly destroyed, the people of Swallow Falls appear to have weathered the storm. Yet they still need to find themselves a new home until the giant sized grocery items are cleared away.

And cue Flint’s hero, Chester V (Will Forte), who shows up to offer his cleaning services.

Chester V relocates all the citizens of Swallow Falls to California, while his entourage starts the clean-up. In California he offers Flint a job as an inventor for Live Corp, his school of inventors.

Chester V tells Flint that the FLDSMDFR was not destroyed and is still producing evil giant animal foods that are destroying the world.

So, in order to reclaim his land, Flint, along with friends Sam Sparks (Anna Faris), Brent McHale (Andy Samberg), Earl Devereaux (Terry Crews), Manny (Benjamin Bratt), Steve (Neil Patrick Harris), and his father, Tim Lockwood (James Caan), go on a mission back to Swallow Falls to destroy the machine.

However, when they get back to the island, things are not what they seem. It doesn’t take long for the audience to figure out that Chester V is evil and is using Flint.

Along the way, a friendship with Barry the Berry is formed and the group realise that these animal-food hybrids are in fact not evil and are not looking to destroy the planet.

The cast do as good of a job than they did in the original, however the most amusing addition is Terry Crews, who takes over for the voice of Earl. He adds his unique humour and brings his character to life through his delivery of lines. You can almost imagine Crews as the ice-cream man turned policeman running from truck-sized bananas.

Other newcomers to the cast are Forte and Kristen Schaal, who voices Chester V’s assistant monkey. They are both great additions, yet Schaal’s character had emotional scenes that didn’t produce any tear-jerking moments, I actually didn’t care much for her.

However, the real stars of the film are the food-animal hybrids. Despicable Me has its minions and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs has its foodimals. They’re cute, funny and smart. Without them the movie would have flopped.

In conclusion the movie is visually appealing, loud and weird … what more could you ask for? There’s slapstick comedy for the children, heart for the adults and humour for everyone. It may not be as good as the original but it’s definitely worthy of a trip to the cinema.

* Showing in Showing in Cineco, Saar, Seef II, Al Jazeera