HOLLYWOOD—Sequels are a dime a dozen. If a movie has been released in multiplexes, there is a good chance a sequel has been made for it. If that sequel lives up to its predecessor is completely another story. To all the animated lovers out there, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2” is a worthy follow-up to the 2009 film. Wow, I can’t believe it has been four years since that movie first came out.
For starters, the picture does a nice recap of the first movie within the first 10 minutes to get the audience up to speed for those who haven’t seen the first installment or who can barely remember it. Children will love the idea of seeing giant meatballs, hamburgers or other foods fly from the sky; this installment tackles another issue: food beasts.
Flint (voice of Bill Hader), finds himself working at Live Corp. under the guidance of Chester V (the company’s CEO) who has ulterior plans that Flint is not aware of. He believes that his FLDSMDFR machine has been destroyed, but it survived and has been creating man-eating foods like a cheespider, a tacodile supreme and monstrous cheeseburgers. I mean seeing gigantic versions of food we eat on a daily basis is one thing, but for them to be brought to human life is even more terrific.
The film has a unique way of tackling side jokes about food that most kids may not pick up on, but the adults absolutely will. The movie provides something for both the adults and the kids: visuals to keep the kids engaged and jokes to keep the adults happy. To solve the mystery, Flint enlists the help of his girlfriend Sam (voice of Anna Faris), his father Tim (James Caan), Manny (voice of Benjamin Bratt) and Officer Devereaux (voice of Terry Crews).
The team discovers Chester V is up to no good and it’s a battle of wits forFlintand his friends to outsmart the evil mastermind. I think what is so enjoyable about the flick is not only the larger than life characters that we enjoyed from the first movie, but additions of new characters like Barb (voice of Kristen Schaal) who is hilarious as an orangutan with human qualities. There is also her love interest, Steve the Monkey (voice of Neil Patrick Harris).
The script on this second go around is not as sharp as the first picture. It’s good, but the story doesn’t take the franchise into new depths. Large food items are one thing, but food items combined with animals and insects are another thing. I hate to say it, but it’s kind of creepy when you think about a python made out of apples or a slice of cheese that can be a spider. It’s icky and in my opinion could almost frighten little ones about trying certain foods after seeing the picture.
“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2” is a fun story. It has likable characters, an interesting premise and educates kids on the importance of various food groups: the good, the bad and the ugly.
By LaDale Anderson
