In this sequel, Flint is called upon to help save the world once more because his invention was not completely destroyed and is causing food havoc once again. Only instead of plain food, it is creating live food and once the new, sentient food gets off the island where they are being created, well, that spells trouble for the world… again.
The creativity involved in this movie is amazing. When we were young we were told, “Don’t play with your food.” Apparently, filmmakers Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn never got that lecture. They played and played and played with food to come up with some pretty funny characters. They actually designed about 150 of them, however only about 40 were used in the movie. First they created the foodimals, and then the creations were animated and given names. A potato became Hippotatomus, mangos turned into Flamangos, a cucumber morphed into a flying Cucumbirdy, watermelon turned into Watermelophants, a taco became a Tacodile, squash became – what else but Sasquash, shrimp turned into Shrimpanzees, and a beet was now a Wildebeet. Are you starting to see the creativity that went into this adorable movie?
From the time the original movie was produced until they started on Cloudy 2, technology had advanced giving the filmmakers even more creative license with which to play. As the directors explained, the first film had a “graphic look” whereas this one looks “like a painting.”
“The characters are the most important thing,” said director Cody Cameron. Besides the story of Flint Lockwood with his friends from the first story, who must save the world once again, there are some other underlying stories as well. The relationship between Flint and his father Tim (James Caan) is part of the movie. Tim is a caring dad but because Flint was always into science, the father/son traditional bonding activities didn’t happen when Flint was a kid. So Tim bonds with some pickles, providing a father/grandfather sub-story, which is an amusing fishing scene. Yes, you read correctly. Tim takes some pickles fishing. As I keep saying, this film is filled with so many creative and funny aspects.
Creative, amusing, enjoyable, colorful, entertaining, funny, cute, adorable, and witty are all words to describe Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.
The Blu-ray Combo pack includes some great bonus features. First there are a few deleted scenes. As director Cody Cameron explained, some scenes were deleted for time constraints, or “sometimes an idea changes in midstream” and the scene is no longer relevant.
There are also four “shorts” – or mini-movies -, which are absolutely adorable. “Steve’s First Bath” is a hilarious story of how the little fellow was finally wrangled into a bath. “Super Manny” has Manny as a, well, Super Hero kind of guy. “Earl Scouts” is about Earl and a group of guys he is trying to teach about the survival of the fittest but things get out of hand. And “Attack of the 50-Food Gummi Bear” is enough to give anyone a large cavity when Steve is left to watch over an endearing but mischievous gummi bear that is transformed into a giant, and Steve follows suit.
Besides these would be great bonus features in themselves, but there are even more, which are included in the Blu-ray/DVD combo packs. There are a lot of “making of” featurettes, including a look at the characters, production design, and creating the Foodimals. Plus, there is a look at how they created the ending credits using mixed media. Once you see this featurette, you’ll have a new appreciation for the ending credits, believe me.
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 runs 95 minutes and is rated PG for mild rude humor. It’s appropriate for most children.
And don’t forget to download the free Foodimal Funimal app for even more fun with the characters, plus the ability to synch to the Blu-ray.
About the Author
Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment business for 20 years. She also writes about technology and has been a travel writer for the past 12 years. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet: The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.
Follow her on Twitter
Like her on Facebook
Snow White (1937) was the Disney Studio’s first animated feature film. Besides ushering in a new legacy for film, the character of Snow White started what is perhaps the most cherished franchise in movie history – that of the Disney Princesses.
I gave a treatment (movie term for basic outline with story summary and description) to a friend of mine, Chris Sanders, who happens to be the guy who had the original idea for Lilo and went on to write the movie. Lilo deserves to be a Disney Princess. Chris gave me his stamp of approval, but was really not optimistic that Disney would entertain any ideas about the story, although he did think it is a good one. Disney guards their Princesses carefully, but when you think that Mulan isn’t really a Princess, then it makes sense to follow a backstory to elevate Lilo into the realm of Princesshood, or Princessdom. Disney can get in touch with me if this idea interests them, and it should!
Many people don’t pay attention to the end credits once a movie is over. Some of us get up and leave as soon as the story is done or turn off the DVD machine when the credits start to roll. That’s understandable, however sometimes the ending credits are just as entertaining as the movie. Well, maybe not just as entertaining, but they are pretty clever.
They used all the resources at their disposal, both old school and new, and didn’t rely solely on computers. They used 2D and 3D, puppets, and a variety of techniques. So, when you get your DVD or Blu-ray at home, take the time to view the ending credits.
A bonus feature on the disc looks at how they created the final sequence. Once you see this, you’ll have a new appreciation for the filmmakers. I know I do. They really took a lot of care and ingenuity making this part of the film. So, instead of pushing the “off” button, let the film run and watch the different kinds of techniques used for this part of the movie. Yes, the ending credits are considered part of the movie, and in this case, rightly so. They are creative and fun.
Disney Princesses are beloved by young and old. These are three of the newest books focusing on three delightful characters and besides having entertaining stories, they also each have an important life lesson.
The newest preschool show is the fun-filled animated series Wallykazam! Take one adorable troll, add his pet dragon, and his goblin, giant, ogre, and sprite friends and you have one great group of creatures ready to educate and entertain young viewers. Oops, did I forget to mention his magic stick? Well, that makes all the difference.
Gina Giant is a sweet little, ahem, I mean big girl. This little giant is always up for a song or a game.
Don’t miss your chance for this great Sony Animation Gift Bag featuring the new home entertainment release Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2. We have five (5) bags to giveaway. Each bag contains:
