Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, directed by Cody Cameron & Kris Pearn, written by Judi Barrett, Ron Barett, John Francis Daley, Jonathan M. Goldstein, Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Erica Rivinoja. Starring Bill Hader (Flint Lockwood), Anna Faris (Sam Sparks), James Caan (Tim Lockwood), Will Forte (Chester V), Andy Samberg (Brent McHale), Benjamin Bratt (Manny), Neil Patrick Harris (Steve), Terry Crews (Earl Deveraux) and Kristen Schaal (Barb).
What is the forecast for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2? TL;DR = it's not as good as the first one and if you removed the puns, it would kind of suck. But let's go a little deeper into things and examine why this is the case. It's time for another REVIEWPOINT as we break down the film's hits and misses.
As always, let's start with the bad news first.
1. OVERLY SIMPLE PLOT
As this is a children's film, it naturally isn't going to be as complex as something like The Godfather or as intricate in detail as Inception, but that doesn't mean it needs to be stripped down to just a few bullet points on an outline. The entire film is basically just "remind us of the previous film, Flint has a hero who is like an evil Steve Jobs, they go to the island and it turns out the evil dude is evil and you shouldn't kill the living creatures, so they don't" and really nothing more.
2. LACK OF CHARACTER GROWTH
Mostly all of the characters have essentially nothing to do. In the first film, Flint's dad grew to be proud of his son and understand him, Brent went from being a jerk to being his friend, Sam and Flint fell in love, etc. However, they're just simply friends in this and the only characters that actually go anywhere are Barb and Flint.
1. THE PUNS
Easily the best parts of the movie are the puns. Here is a list of some of the Foodimals in the movie that aren't "just a tomato":
Barry the Strawberry (one of the stars of the movie)
Susheep (sushi/sheep)
Wild Scallions (wild stallion - look like giraffe / brontosaurus animals)
Peanut butter and jellyfish
Applie pie-thon
Bananostrich (weird execution on that one; they sound and look more like dolphins with legs)
Cantalope
Cucumbird
Meatbalrus (meatball walrus)
Double Bacon Cheesespider (which acted like a bit of a dog/spider hybrid)
Flamango (I was not compensated for my work on this film)
Fruit Cockatiel (I thought these were pineapple owl combos before I looked this up, so I naturally thought they were pineappowls)
Hippotato (nice touch having the potato/hippopotamus foodimals with chives for teeth)
Sasquash
Shrimpanzee
Tacodile Supreme (with habanero peppers for legs)
Watermelophant (watermelon elephants)
Wildabeet (wildebeest vs beets)
My favorite pun? The leek in the boat:
2. THE MARSHMALLOWS
These things were so cute that I had to give them their own section. Just look at them! In particular, the one that wanted Flint to pet it. Adorable.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs falls short of being as good as the first one (or better). It's still fun to sit through if you're a fan of puns, but once you've heard all the puns, it doesn't have much substance outside of that.
Would I recommend it? Don't watch it in theatres. Just check it out in a cheaper method if you're up for something light.
If you want to check out some more recent Reviewpoint articles: White House Down | The Lone Ranger | Man of Steel | Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox | The Wolverine | Turbo | Kick-Ass 2
What is the forecast for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2? TL;DR = it's not as good as the first one and if you removed the puns, it would kind of suck. But let's go a little deeper into things and examine why this is the case. It's time for another REVIEWPOINT as we break down the film's hits and misses.
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW
As always, let's start with the bad news first.
THE MISSES
1. OVERLY SIMPLE PLOT
As this is a children's film, it naturally isn't going to be as complex as something like The Godfather or as intricate in detail as Inception, but that doesn't mean it needs to be stripped down to just a few bullet points on an outline. The entire film is basically just "remind us of the previous film, Flint has a hero who is like an evil Steve Jobs, they go to the island and it turns out the evil dude is evil and you shouldn't kill the living creatures, so they don't" and really nothing more.
2. LACK OF CHARACTER GROWTH
Mostly all of the characters have essentially nothing to do. In the first film, Flint's dad grew to be proud of his son and understand him, Brent went from being a jerk to being his friend, Sam and Flint fell in love, etc. However, they're just simply friends in this and the only characters that actually go anywhere are Barb and Flint.
THE HITS
1. THE PUNS
Easily the best parts of the movie are the puns. Here is a list of some of the Foodimals in the movie that aren't "just a tomato":
Barry the Strawberry (one of the stars of the movie)
Susheep (sushi/sheep)
Wild Scallions (wild stallion - look like giraffe / brontosaurus animals)
Peanut butter and jellyfish
Applie pie-thon
Bananostrich (weird execution on that one; they sound and look more like dolphins with legs)
Cantalope
Cucumbird
Meatbalrus (meatball walrus)
Double Bacon Cheesespider (which acted like a bit of a dog/spider hybrid)
Flamango (I was not compensated for my work on this film)
Fruit Cockatiel (I thought these were pineapple owl combos before I looked this up, so I naturally thought they were pineappowls)
Hippotato (nice touch having the potato/hippopotamus foodimals with chives for teeth)
Sasquash
Shrimpanzee
Tacodile Supreme (with habanero peppers for legs)
Watermelophant (watermelon elephants)
Wildabeet (wildebeest vs beets)
My favorite pun? The leek in the boat:
2. THE MARSHMALLOWS
These things were so cute that I had to give them their own section. Just look at them! In particular, the one that wanted Flint to pet it. Adorable.
END NOTES
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs falls short of being as good as the first one (or better). It's still fun to sit through if you're a fan of puns, but once you've heard all the puns, it doesn't have much substance outside of that.
Would I recommend it? Don't watch it in theatres. Just check it out in a cheaper method if you're up for something light.
If you want to check out some more recent Reviewpoint articles: White House Down | The Lone Ranger | Man of Steel | Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox | The Wolverine | Turbo | Kick-Ass 2
What were your thoughts on the movie? What should the next Reviewpoint be?
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