CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2

US, 2013, 95 minutes, Colour.
Voices of: Bill Hader, Anna Farris, James Caan, Will Forte, Terry Crews, Andy Samberg.
Directed by Cody Cameron and Kris Peam.

The first Cloudy… Meatballs appealed to a great number of audiences and critics. It was quite a colourful show, focusing on a young man, Flint Lockwood, who fancied himself as an inventor and his machine which could actually provide food from the skies, transforming the elements. He was something of a loner, but had a supportive family, especially his father, and a young woman, Sam the meteorologist, who walked into his life and into his romance. The film appealed to adult audiences as well as children.

So, now another visit to the inventor and the opportunity to see how he got on with his machine after it went skewiff in what it provided and what fell from the sky. Flint and his friends were organising themselves in Swallow Falls to tidy up their world when his idol, Chester V, arrives to recruit him to his new company. Flint takes the opportunity to begin again with his inventions, making good from the last one which went awry. He has his usual team, the chicken-clad,Brent, the local policeman, Earl, and with help from Sam and his father.

But… Chester V is not what he seems, or perhaps he is what he seems but Flint does not notice. He has a new machine which also goes awry, intentionally, transforming creatures into hybrids with names such as shrimpanzees, watermelophants, peanut butter and jellyfish, tacodiles, and bananostriches . Needless to say, lots of opportunities for comedy and lives, for visual colourful inventiveness, and the potential for crises.

Ultimately, Flint sees Chester V for what he is and has to rally his troops to remedy the situation which leads to some comic conflicts. Chester’s assistant is a monkey called Barb but she has difficulties with her identity and what she should really call herself, monkey or not, finally coming over from the dark side.

There is a lot of sharp dialogue, plenty of action, use of the imagination for inventiveness, bright colourful animation. Amongst the voice talent is Bill Hadar as Flint, James Caan as Flint’s father, Anna Farris as Sam, Will Forte as Chester.

The film is eccentrically attractive but might be also an acquired taste.

1. The popularity of the original film, characters, its zany plots, characters?

2. The title and its zany tone? The focus on food? Food puns?

3. The style of animation, characters, layout, the foodimals? Chester V? Swallow Falls? The machinery?

4. Flint Lockwood, his role as an inventor, water-into-food? His success in the original film? Chester V as his mentor, recruited, going back to Swallow
Falls? The machine and the foodimals, ‘foodimals’? His mission to stop it? Life-Corps?, its business and plan? It’s bureaucracy?

5. Sam, from the first film, her love for Flint, working with him, working with the foodimals, discovering the truth?

6. The foodimals and their place in the ecosystem?

7. Flint finding the machine, Chester stealing it? Taking the foodimals? The plan to destroy them, turn them into food bars?

8. Flint, his range of friends from the first film, the monkey, mischievous, finally on side, his relationship with his father and the support, Sam and her help, planning to release the foodimals?

9. The foodimals, the humour with their shapes and sizes, combinations? Names?

10. Chester, Flint’s disillusionment, opposing him, Chester falling into the grinder?

11. The water into food machine restored, the ecosystem restored, Flint a hero, happy ever after?