Cloudy with a chance of meatballs

16.03.2010

Film Trailer

The young and ambitious Flint Lockwood invents a machine that make it rain food, but when the machine runs wild, he must save the world from a storm of giant meatballs. This is an entertaining film that is recommended for children from 7 years.

Plot
Since he was a little boy, Flint has only had one goal - he wants to be a famous inventor. He is convinced that the world needs his talents, and throughout childhood he invents a number of innovations that all end with disaster. But Flint never gives up, and eventually he invents what he considers to be his masterpiece - a machine that turns water into food.

The only problem is that the machine requires a lot of power to operate. Convinced that the invention will be a success Flint sneaks over to the local power plant and connects his machine. It all goes terribly wrong. The machine takes off like a rocket, and creates severe damage before it shoots up into the atmosphere.

Flint is humiliated and about to give up his dream, but soon some clouds comes hurtling towards the shore, and before he knows it, it starts to rain hamburgers. The sensational news is transmitted worldwide by meteorologist apprentice Sam Sparks, and soon Flint gets the recognition he always wanted.

But it does not end there. The mayor of the city sees the opportunity to make the city a tourist magnet, and he gets Flint to create a continuous rain of spectacular dishes. In addition, Flint wants to impress the cute Sam, and it all results in a machine that is pushed to the breaking point.

Finally, the molecular structure of the food changes and it starts to rain huge hot dogs, pancakes and other dishes. It all evolves into a violent storm that threatens to crush and bury the world under a mountain of food. Thus, Flint has no other choice but to try to destroy the machine before the world goes under.

Quality and Theme
"Cloudy with a chance of meatballs" is a funny, absurd and entertaining comedy that is suitable for both children and adults. The story is a funny parody of the disaster movie genre, and a steady stream of jokes and a number of quirky characters mean that the film never has a dull moment. Still, the movie does not reach the level of the best animation films. It seems that the filmmakers have tried a bit too hard to make the story hilarious, and even though they largely succeed, many of the jokes seem artificial, while some scenes are a bit silly.

The message in the film, however, is versatile and good. We get to know a protagonist who is so keen to get recognition that he completely ignores all the danger signals and warnings of the impending disaster. At the same time he lets himself be seduced by the mayor's promises of glory and fame. This can make children and young people understand that to seek fame at any cost rarely leads to something good. It also becomes very clear how much impact it can have if you tamper too much with nature.

In addition, the film makes a funny point about the littering and disposal of food. The massive rain of food leaves behind large amounts of debris, and the mayor addresses this problem by getting Flint to build a ballista that catapults the food into in a dam outside of town. "Out of sight, out of mind" is the mayor's motto, which of course is not a healthy attitude. The leftover food eventually grows to a huge mountain that threatens to destroy the dam and bury the city. Another good point is made when a child ends up in a coma caused by eating too much unhealthy food, and the only thing that can save him is celery and other healthy foods.

Suitability
"Cloudy with a chance of meatballs " has a "U" rating, but due to a number of dramatic scenes and sound effects, we do not recommend the film for children under 7 years.

Conclusion
This is a fun movie with a good message that certainly can be recommended.

Facts

Director: Chris Miller and Phil Lord Genre: Comedy, Animation Language: English Nationality: USA Production Company: Sony Pictures Animation, Columbia Pictures (Sony) Length: 1 hour 30 mins Production Year: 2009 Age Limit: U Suitability: Family BBFC’s Consumer Advice: Contains one use of mild language and scenes of mild comic threat.