Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs [G]

In the tiny town of Swallow Falls, the inhabitants live on nothing but sardines, which is less than satisfying. But when local inventor and branded “weirdo” Flint Lockwood invents a machine that turns water into food, the town’s prayers for nourishment are answered. At first, Flint thinks his inventing career is over when his machine explodes and is sent up into the stratosphere, but then it starts raining delicious hamburgers and Flint’s true genius is finally recognised. But how long can the good stuff last before it becomes more than Flint can chew? 

I didn’t bother to go and see this at the movies because, honestly, it looked like the most fantastically stupid film ever. But, curiosity got the better of me, and I hired it out to see just how silly it was. All I can say is that I was pleasantly surprised and that we should all indulge in our curiosities once in a while. 

In the tiny town of Swallow Falls, the inhabitants live on nothing but sardines, which is less than satisfying. But when local inventor and branded “weirdo”, Flint Lockwood, invents a machine that turns water into food, the town’s prayers for proper nourishment are answered. At first, Flint thinks his inventing career is over when his machine explodes and is sent up into the stratosphere, but then it starts raining delicious hamburgers and Flint’s true genius is finally recognised. But how long will the good stuff last before it becomes too much for Flint to chew? 

Despite the silly basic story about water being turned into food, which really just seems like a kid’s dream as the closest anyone ever got to it was Jesus, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs harboured some surprising moments of warmth, heart, and clever comedy. 

For a start, the script is very funny, sometimes a bit literal, but very funny. That, added to the voice talents of the stars gave the film both its comedy and its heart. A classic example of the type of humour the film uses is in this line, said by the local cop, voiced by Mr. T: “This contact lens represents you. And my eye represents my eye. I got my eye on you!” It’s actually rather funny and the animation is good too. 

Featuring the voice talents of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Andy Samberg, Bruce Campbell, Benjamin Bratt, and Mr. T, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is a funny little film that’s filled with food, comedy, great animation, imagination, heart, and romance. It may seem like a silly story, but it’s actually a good little film that the family can enjoy.