MOVIE REVIEW: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

GENRE: 3D Animation comedy

RUNNING TIME: 1 hour 35 minutes

DIRECTED BY: Cody Cameron (Shrek, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) and Kris Pearn (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs)

VOICES OF: Bill Hader (Night at the Museum), Anna Faris (What’s your Number?), Andy Samburg (Hotel Transylvania) Benjamin Bratt (Despicable Me 2), Neil Patrick Harris (The Smurfs 2)

RATING: 5/10

Currently screening at Ster-Kinekor Northgate.

PLOT: In the previous movie, Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) invented a machine that could turn water into food. This groundbreaking science soon turned ugly as the weather patterns changed. Believed to have been destroyed, the machine lives on, with the large corporation LIV COR and President Chester V (Will Forte) trying to clean up the mess. The world appears to be in grave danger as giant cheese burgers take to the water.

Flint is offered a secret mission that he cannot turn down, a chance to return to the island and find his machine. He sneaks his friends Sam (Anna Faris), Brent (Andy Samburg) and Manny (Benjamin Bratt) onto the boat with him, only to find it’s not much of a secret mission when his Dad (James Caan) arrives to complete the crew. They are finally going home, but none of them can possibly imagine the new world that awaits them.

THE GOOD: Summed up in one word, this story is imaginative. The fascinating scenery provides a refreshing outlook on the way in which we view food. Even the take on business is streamlined and modern, with the odd dig and stab at new corporate ideals. The script keeps up the pace with a fun play on words and Steve (Neil Patrick Harris) the monkey remains an amusing focal point for the kids.

THE BAD: Talking animals are seldom fun and while the ‘foodimals’ are sweet, generally the movie is bizarre. The humour is either over the top or not funny at all and the toilet humour involved becomes exhausting. While this time round the bad guys are the burgers and chips, I still worry about the relevance to a country in which many go hungry. It is a strange movie that I’d imagine might create more nightmares than fresh creative ideas.

VERDICT: This is not an easy movie to watch. For anyone who loves food, the images are rather fun and the moral that friends come first is a good basic, but the story is decidedly odd. With cute food, scary food, monster veGgies and Jurassic meals, children may be easily appeased by the colours and imagery, but seeing food behaving like animals comes across as freaky and unnerving.

Thanks to Ster-Kinekor Northgate for making the review possible.