Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs **** (2009, voices of Anna Faris, Bill Hader, Bruce Campbell, James Caan) – Classic Movie Review 584

Inspired by the beloved children’s picture-book by Judi and Ron Barrett, this extremely cute, sweet and loads of fun 2009 animated comedy focuses on the island community of Swallow Falls, where young inventor Flint Lockwood (voice of Bill Hader) creates a machine that turns rainfall into food. Even if this idea takes quite a bit of swallowing, fair enough, it’s a tasty premise.

With hamburgers and pizzas soon pouring down on the town, hordes of visitors arrive to check it out. And cute weather girl Sam Sparks (voice of Anna Faris) is soon there on the scene to cover the story. But then of course Flint’s invention starts to runs out of control.

Charmingly quirky stuff, this slice of Americana may mean more Stateside where the book is more popular, and the humour could be a bit offbeat for some tastes. And yet, with its lively vocals for the unique characters, constantly surprising developments and delightfully eye-catching visuals, it’s uniquely appealing, enjoyable and entertaining.

Also in the nice voice cast are James Caan as Flint’s dad Tim Lockwood, Andy Samberg as ‘Baby’ Brent, Bruce Campbell as Mayor Shelbourne, Mr T as Earl Devereaux (with a T-shaped bald patch instead of the actor’s T-shaped mohawk), Benjamin Bratt as Manny and Neil Patrick Harris as Vervet monkey Steve.

Sadly, it was an also-ran movie at awards time, with only a Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature as its best shot. However, it cleaned up at the box office, and a sequel was needed: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 in 2013.

These animations are very costly to make – this one was $100 million – but they are often very lucrative. It took back $125 million in the US, and was popular after all in the UK, with a £6 million take.

© Derek Winnert 2013 Classic Movie Review 584

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