Sony Pictures Animation began in 2006 with “Open Season”, then a year later came out with “Surf’s Up” and followed that in early 2009 with the direct to DVD release of “Open Season 2”. Each of those films is very funny, but “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” is the studio’s best yet.
“Cloudy” is loosely based on the popular children’s book of the same name. We first meet the main character, Flint Lockwood, as a young boy. Flint is an inventor, and he’s always wanted to invent something great so he could become popular and people, especially his father, would be proud of him.
After a series of bad inventions, Flint, now in his early 20’s, hits it big by inventing a machine that makes food fall from the sky. He lives on an island where the people only eat sardines, so Flint’s new invention brings him instant fame on the island and around the world, thanks to a TV weather girl, named Sam Sparks, who comes to town to cover the story.
However, the machine goes out of control and Flint, Sam and his pet monkey, have to try to shut-down the invention and save the world.
“Cloudy’s” 90-minutes are packed with more great scenes and laughs than any movie of 2009. year. It’s a comedy, love story and action-adventure film all in one! I can’t wait to see it again to catch all the funny lines and inside jokes that I missed the first time.
Bill Hader voices Flint and leads an impressive cast that includes Anna Faris, James Caan, Neil Patrick Harris, Al Roker and even Mr. T.
The animation is fantastic, especially the cartoon food. And the fast-paced action scenes, especially when Flint is moving his hands so quickly on the computer, are amazing. I saw “Cloudy” in IMAX 3-D, which was phenomenal. No doubt the DVD and Blu-ray versions will look fantastic. And there is 2-disc Super Sized edition with plenty of cool extras.
“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” is rated PG for some brief, mild language and mild cartoon violence. It’s appropriate for everyone 5 and up. Just don’t watch it when you’re hungry.
On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” gets a B+.
It finished #3 on my list of the Best Films of 2009.