Directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord gave four years of their life to bring the beloved children's book to life. Over 500 people worked on this film, and the result is a great melting pot of CGI animation, story, and enough down-home cooking to make Denny's® envious.

Most feature-length movies take around two years to make, and animated films usually take a bit longer than that. When Chris Miller and Phil Lord persuaded Sony Pictures Animation to give them a shot at Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, they had no idea the next four years of their lives would be wrapped up in this production. Was it worth it? After ten minutes, there's no doubt the answer is "Yes!"

Synopsis
Aspiring inventor Flint Lockwood (voiced by Bill Hader) is the socially awkward genius behind some the most bizarre contraptions ever conceived. But even though all of his inventions, from spray-on shoes to a monkey thought translator, have been spectacular failures that caused trouble in his small town, Flint is determined to create something that will make people happy.

When Flint's latest machine, designed to turn water into food, accidentally destroys the town square and rockets up into the clouds, he thinks his inventing career is over. Until something amazing happens: cheeseburgers start raining from the sky. The food weather is an instant success, and Flint forges a fast friendship with Sam Sparks (voiced by Anna Faris), the weathergirl who comes to town to cover what she calls "The greatest weather phenomenon in history." But is receiving all the food they can eat on demand really what the people of the town need?

Review
Even before the first scene begins, you get glimpses of the humor that's rampant in this film. During the credits, there's a clever take on the usual "Film by…" credit line, and a symbol familiar to every moviegoer gets into the act. It's just the beginning of the humor, both subtle and overt, that infuses the story, but never at the expense of the storyline. Lord and Miller, who previously created the animated show Clone High U.S.A. for HBO, had never worked in 3-D before, but had no qualms about diving in headfirst.

The characters and animation don't have the exquisite detail of this year's earlier animated hit Up, but still deliver a wonderful experience. But like Up, the 3-D animation is used particularly well, never gratuitously to prove that it can be done, but to enhance the look and feel of the film. The filmmakers have discussed in detail the amount of time they spent studying food in order to get the look and feel of certain scenes just right, and I can tell you that none of that time was wasted.

Be True to Yourself
The story is a poignant and familiar one, similar to that of Meet the Robinsons, with a strong emphasis on the relationship between Flint and his dad (wonderfully voiced by James Caan). It seems that both Flint and Sam are forced to deny who they are and what they do because they seem to fit into normal life better that way. And both are plagued by what they think are colossal failures. But in the end, we learn it's important to be an individual and be true to yourself, and that failures are just things that happen on the way to success.

Kids will love this film, and while it may seem like it's geared toward that audience, as adults we can learn something from Flint's journey. This is a delightful film with good lessons for everyone. Now if they could only invent movies that deliver smell as well as sight and sound.

Rating
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is rated G.

Courtesy of Sony Pictures Animation and a national publicist, Angela attended a promotional screening of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.