Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)
Directed by Christopher Miller, Phil Lord
Written by Christopher Miller, Phil Lord
Starring Bill Hader, James Caan, Anna Faris
Release Date September 18th, 2009
Published September 18th, 2009
Sony has been trying to break into the big time of the animation biz for nearly a decade now. They've had modest success with movies like Open Season but no real home run shots like those of the industry standard Pixar. Their latest attempt to hit one out of the park is close, atleast a double in the gap.
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs is a clever, quick witted and imaginative kids flick that never talks down to the target audience and finds more than a few moments everyone can enjoy.
Flint Lockwood (Voice of Bill Hader, SNL) has always wanted to be an engineer. As a small child he invented liquid shoes, a shimmering paste that hardened on your feet. Unfortunately, he could never take them off, but it kinda worked. His loving mom always supported his imagination while his fisherman father James (James Caan) just wanted him to learn to fish.
The island on which Flint was born and raised has long lived on the towns only export, Sardines. Now, Flint thinks he can change all of that. His latest invention converts water into food. While the town is gathered for the latest Sardine related tourist trap, Flint launches his new invention, accidentally, into the sky.
Meanwhile, an erstwhile weather reporter, Sam Sparks (Anna Faris) is desperate for a big weather scoop to make her career. She happens upon Flint and as they are bonding over mutual failure their salvation falls from the sky in the form of a juicy hamburger. Flint's invention is caught in the clouds and turning the rain to food, a major coup for a young weather reporter.
Not surprisingly things start out in fun and games with the town loving all of the new food and Sam getting scoop after literal scoop, Ice Cream snow, all the while falling for Flint and his wild imagination. Then the machine gets out of control and the movie switches to action mode involving a tornado of Spaghetti, a pit made of sharp peanut brittle, and sentient pizza.
The movie is based on a bestselling kids book and translates smoothly to the big screen easily capturing the spirit and good nature that made the book so popular. Bill Hader is terrific as the voice of Flint over and under playing at just the right pitch. Anna Faris's high pitched voice already sounds like a cartoon and she, like Hader, is perfectly at home here.
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs doesn't rewrite the book on digital animation and it may not launch Sony into upper echelon of animation where Pixar resides but it does help further establish a beachhead in what is the most consistent box office segment, kids animated feature.
The key is remembering that just animating a story doesn't make it a hit, you have to team animation with strong storytelling and great voice talent. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs does just that.
