Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, the new film by Sony Pictures Animation is a perfectly serviceable slice of family entertainment – nothing more and nothing less. It’s not nearly as funny as a contemporary classic like Shrek 2, and it never even approaches the transcendent state of true metanarrative that Disney/Pixar’s Up so effortlessly achieved - but I don’t really hold that against it. Not every kid grows up to play for the All-Stars; not every meal can be gourmet. This film doesn’t represent the pinnacle of modern cinema, but it doesn’t wallow in the dregs of tripe and trope either.
Based on the book by Ron and Judi Barrett, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs details the story of Flint Lockwood, a brilliant but awkward young man who dreams of becoming the world’s greatest scientist. Unfortunately, most of Flint’s inventions end in certain disaster, inflicting plagues of flying rats and walking TV sets upon his quiet and forgotten hometown of Swallow Falls. Rejected and shunned by his peers, Flint builds a mammoth makeshift laboratory in his cluttered backyard and continues to tinker away with a determined zeal.
Once a booming fishing town, Swallow Falls dives into a steep decline once the world realizes that sardines (its primary haul) are actually “super gross”. Left with little recourse, the people of Swallow Falls have resorted to eating sardines for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
No one believes in Flint, but his newest invention – a device that transforms water into any food imaginable – may be just the thing to turn the town’s fortunes around. With cheeseburgers raining from the skies and ice cream falling like snow, Flint quickly becomes a local hero.
But you can have too much of a good thing. As the townsfolk place thousands of special orders and Flint gets his fill of his new-found celebrity, the food machine inches ever closer to a catastrophic meltdown. When things inevitably careen out of control, the world looks to Flint to avert a culinary disaster of global proportions.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is definitely better than average, but it doesn’t excel in any area. It does what countless other films have done - and it doesn’t even do it exceptionally well - just well enough.
For example, the voice cast is a talented bunch, and while the roster even includes such unique additions as the eccentric Mr. T and fanboy god Bruce Campbell, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs never captures that sublime synergy of cast and character featured in this spring’s Monsters vs. Aliens.
Monsters vs. Aliens’ cast fit their roles perfectly, infusing that otherwise inferior film with a hip sense of pop culture sensibility. And while Up may not have had much solid star power, it’s relatively innocuous cast easily and completely submerged into their roles.
Unfortunately, this film lacks either advantage. I suspect these characters could have been adequately voiced by any number of actors; and, as a consequence, the best that is on offer here is the comfort of hearing a familiar voice. That’s a disappointment, to be sure, but again, certainly not a convention completely without merit. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy Mr. T’s grimaced tones or Campbell’s slick snake-oil seductions – I just wish they could have been cast in roles better suited to their unique talents.
On a positive note, while the movie starts out a bit slow and awkward, it eventually finds its rhythm and finishes strong. Everything else about Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, though, fits a similar description of good, not great. The animation isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s smooth and appealing to the eye. The music is mostly nondescript, save a bit at the beginning with a rad sort of 80’s vibe that really got my blood pumping.
The film’s humor definitely favors the children in the audience and will likely leave parents’ more refined sensibilities shivering in the cold. Still, there were a few moments here and there (like an attack by gummy bear gremlins or a group of carnivorous roasted chicken ninjas) that had me rolling in my chair. There’s also an inspired sequence toward the end of the film which chronicles Flint’s efforts to instruct his technologically-challenged father in the use of e-mail attachments that I think perfectly captures our generational electronic disconnect, and mines it for all its comedic worth.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs highlights the kind of life lessons and platitudes we’ve come to expect from animated family films. That’s not to say its message of acceptance, determination, and self-control isn’t worthwhile, it’s just nothing new. But, on the other hand, it doesn’t hurt to be reminded that it’s what’s inside that counts, that embracing your true self and holding tenaciously to your dreams amid disappointment and setbacks might just pay off, that family is paramount, and that greed, pride, and laziness can end in disaster if left unchecked.
Aside from a subtle riff on a poo-flinging monkey, parents will find little content worthy of concern. Some of the weather anomalies - like a cloud that literally excretes (are you noticing a pattern?) food - are a bit disgusting. A local celebrity in Swallow Falls, who once posed - as a toddler - in a diaper for a sardine advertisement, still has a penchant for removing his clothes in public, even though he is now fully grown and grossly overweight (think Will Ferrell in every film role and Saturday Night Live skit in which he’s ever starred). Finally, Flint becomes a little overzealous during his first snowball fight, but no one is seriously hurt. Still, it’s a bit of rough imitative behavior parents may want to consider.
Like the kid sitting quietly in the back of the classroom, there’s not much to make Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs stand out from the crowd. I enjoyed it, but it certainly hasn’t rocketed to the front of my short list. If you decide it’s worth your time, go in with tempered expectations and you shouldn’t be disappointed.
Caution Rating: 2.5
