Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Voices by Bill Hader, Anna Faris. Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller. G.

copyright sony pictures

Relevant offers

Movies

Clooney is convincing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo War horse Master director lights up the screen Holmes sequel an opportunity wasted Streep makes a riveting Iron Lady Soaring to the challenge Feast of films sure to suit all tastes A cool cat comes back Quakes doco has emotional impact

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is an animated family entertainment as odd and silly as its title, yet satirically funny and fulfilling.

It focuses on young nerdy inventor Flint (voice by Bill Hader) who lives in the struggling small town of Swallow Falls (famous for sardines) and is derided for such ill-fated inventions as his spray-on shoes (to overcome the problem of untied shoelaces) which he discovers you can't take off.

But his life changes when he comes up with a way to change water in clouds into a rain of food. Flint becomes hugely popular and the town, which changes its name to Chewandswallow, anticipates becoming a tourism sensation ... until a perfect storm of food looms on the horizon and threatens the world.

It's all foolish fun on the surface, featuring a variety of stock support characters, among them a wide-eyed weather girl (Anna Faris) who works for a TV station more interested in looks than smarts, an acrobatic cop (Mr T) who adores his son, an adult slacker (Adam Samberg) living off his fame as a baby celebrity, a mayor who wants to be big in his tiny town (Bruce Campbell), and a monkey sidekick (Neil Patrick Harris) for Flint.

The story culminates in an absurdist spoof of Michael Bay disaster movies and a meatball-style death star – but it also adroitly works in issues such as greed, gluttony and waste disposal getting there.

It's also a movie very much about fathers and sons, with Flint desperate to make his dad (James Caan) – a widower who runs a bait-and-tackle shop and only talks in fish metaphors – proud of him.

Flint also faces choices about fame and celebrity, such as whether the approval of family is more important than that of millions of acquaintances.

Sony's digital animation here (the movie was also released in 3D) is arguably junk food to competitor Pixar's gourmet offerings – but its old-fashioned, cartoon style suits what proves to be a crazy, wildly fanciful, weird and witty tale.

- © Fairfax NZ News