Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)

The most delicious event since macaroni met cheese. Inspired by the beloved children's book, the film focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain.

Directors:

Phil Lord, Chris Miller

Writers:

Phil Lord (written for the screen by), Chris Miller (written for the screen by),

Stars:

Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bill Hader	...	Flint Lockwood (voice)
Anna Faris	...	Sam Sparks (voice)
James Caan	...	Tim Lockwood (voice)
Andy Samberg	...	'Baby' Brent (voice)
Bruce Campbell	...	Mayor Shelbourne (voice)
Mr. T	...	Earl Devereaux (voice)
Bobb'e J. Thompson	...	Cal Devereaux (voice)
Benjamin Bratt	...	Manny (voice)
Neil Patrick Harris	...	Steve (voice)
Al Roker	...	Patrick Patrickson (voice)
Lauren Graham	...	Fran Lockwood (voice)
Will Forte	...	Joe Towne (voice)
Max Neuwirth	...	Young Flint (voice)
Peter Siragusa	...	Rufus (voice)
Angela Shelton	...	Regina Devereaux (voice)

Storyline

Flint Lockwood thinks he's a genius. But none of the things he invented are things that make sense or are useful. However, he has the support of his mother but when she dies, he's left alone with his father who thinks he should give it up. When the community that he lives in, is in an economic crisis because their primary source of income a sardine cannery was shut down, Flint decides to try his latest invention, a machine that can turn water into food. But something goes wrong and the machine ends up in the atmosphere. Later it starts raining food. The shifty mayor tries to use this as a way to help their community, but when Flint senses something wrong with the machine, the mayor convinces him to ignore it. However, as Flint predicts, chaos ensues.

---

Plot Keywords:

food | sardine | mayor | weather | eiffel tower destroyed | 

---

Taglines:

Prepare to get served

---

Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for brief mild language

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures [France] Sony Pictures [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 September 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: An IMAX 3D Experience

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,583,544 (UK) (18 September 2009)

Gross:

$124,870,275 (USA) (22 January 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steve is a Vervet monkey.

---

Goofs

The GUI of the computer in Flint Lockwood's lab changes from either a Unix / Windows interface, with restore, minimize and close icons on the windows on the right initially. However, when his dad sends the email, the GUI is a representation of a Mac OS with the icons on the left and in standard Mac OS colours.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Flint Lockwood: Have you ever felt like you were a little bit different? Like you had something unique to offer the world, if you could just get people to see it. Then you know exactly how it felt to be me.

---

Crazy Credits

On the Columbia Pictures title screen, the Torch Lady is dislodged off the pedestal by a giant banana that falls from the sky.

---

Connections

Referenced in Aaron Stone: Cloudy with a Chance of Ninjas (2009)

---

Soundtracks

"Promises"
Written and Performed by Trevor Rabin
Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group
By Arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

Surprisingly imaginative, original and very funny

Living in the UK, I had never heard of the children's book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and to be honest, I thought it sounded a little too peculiar and odd for my tastes going by the title and trailers. However, being a big fan of animated movies, I decided to take the risk and judge the movie for myself; and I'm so glad I did.

Not only does Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs have a quirky, thoughtful and imaginative storyline, it also exudes humour through its likable characters, discerning messages and vivid visual style. Telling the tale of a young man's quest to become an inventor, the film shies away from numerous Disney clichés creating a unique and original world full of colour and inspired characters. Unlike most Dreamworks animations, the characters are fully developed and rounded without the need for countless A-list celebrity voice-overs. The screenplay is similarly outstanding in terms of humour with countless laugh-out-loud moments that will appeal to both adults and children alike.

The animation and visual style of the film isn't up to the stunning beauty of the latest Pixar movies such as Ratatouille or WALL-E but it certainly exudes a similar level of ingeniousness, creativity and originality as seen in such movies. Albeit, amongst the wild plot and genuinely hilarious dialogue lies a subtle moral tale of parental recognition, portion sizes and personal confidence.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs took me by surprise, I went into the cinema expecting an average computer generated movie incomparable with today's best of the genre and came out astonished by the sheer creativity oozing from every aspect of the film.

8/10.