WHO’S IN IT?
Bill Hader (Superbad), Anna Faris (Scary Movie), James Caan (The Godfather), Andy Samberg (Hot Rod), Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), Benjamin Bratt (Despicable Me 2), Terry Crews (The Expendables), Will Forte (MacGruber), Kristen Schaal (Flight of the Conchords), Khamani Griffin (Daddy Day Care)
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
Cody Cameron (film debut) and Kris Pearn (film debut), directors; John Francis Daley (Horrible Bosses) and Jonathan M. Goldstein (The Incredible Burt Wonderstone), writers; Kirk Bodyfelt (film debut), producer; Mark Mothersbaugh (21 Jump Street), composer; Robert Fisher Jr. (The Tigger Movie) and Stan Webb (The Nightmare Before Christmas), editors
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
After the disastrous events of the first film, including a devastating food storm, the town of Chewandswallow is forced to be abandoned by its inhabitants. Inventor Flint Lockwood (Hader), the man responsible for creating the machine that turned water into food in the first place, is recruited by his idol Chester V (Forte) to join The Live Corp Company, an inventor’s bureau which is tasked with cleaning the island. However, when Flint discovers that his machine is still active and is creating strange mutant food animals, he and his friends must journey back to the town and try to save the world…
WHY SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED?
In 2009, an animated film from a fairly-new animation studio – Sony Pictures Animation, which up to that point had produced one lacklustre film Open Season – debuted, known only as Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. With a strange premise of a machine that makes it rain burgers, hot dogs and all kinds of food, everyone thought it would crash and burn. Surprise surprise, it ended up being a critical darling and a box office success based off of its goofiness and genuinely funny humour alone.
Naturally, a sequel was commissioned and is now feeding its way through audiences’ wallets. Already a hit at the American box office, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 now makes its way into British cinemas just in time for the half-term so your kids can be enchanted by the visual artistry and the accompanying adults sucked into the warm-hearted moments and slapstick gold.
Sadly, original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller do not return to helm this follow-up since their own careers have taken off thanks to this film and their live-action debut 21 Jump Street. Although they are at the moment working on the sequel to that film – 22 Jump Street, out next year – and putting together the finishing touches to their next animated movie – The LEGO Movie, also out next year – they were kind enough to be act as the executive producers here so at least their zany visions can be kept intact.
All your favourite characters are back as are their vocal talents, except Mr. T who is replaced by Terry Crews as over-active policeman Earl Devereaux, and are joined by new arrivals Will Forte and Kristen Schaal. This time, the crew are forced into a Jurassic Park of consumables, with just about every food/animal pun you can think of being used for all the creatively-designed creatures they come across, including shrimp-anzees, hi-potato-mauses, and fla-mangos. If you found yourself chuckling at those, come on in: there’s plenty more where that came from!
A wondrous treat for all the family, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 recaptures the zany but lovable spirit of the first film without ever expiring, with tasty images for children of all ages to digest, off-the-wall laughs for grown-ups to chow down on, and colourful characters you can eat up whole. Hey, if the movie can make a ton of food puns then so can we.
