It seems as though the standard by which animated movies are judged nowadays is whether or not the film can provide ample entertainment, for both children and their parents. This is a good system to go by, especially when viewing non-Pixar films, many of which fall short when trying to write more sophisticated jokes for older moviegoers.
When approached this way, however, the animation itself is usually left in the background. And while it is all right to forget about the gritty details of animation in some cases, it is not all right when the film is in the much-hyped 3-D format. That’s not to say Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs isn’t well animated, but it could have done more with the 3-D version it was presented in.
Nevertheless, this film, adapted from the beloved children’s book of the same name, is one darned good animated movie. In this incarnation, though, the subject matter strays a bit from the original book. Instead of telling the story through a more complexly structured narrative, it focuses on an amateur inventor, Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader, Night at the Museum 2), and his creation of a machine that converts water into food.
After years of failed inventions, Flint believes he finally has found his key to success by way of a machine intended to relieve his town of Swallow Falls from the monotony of eating nothing but sardines. But when he attempts to power up his invention, it instead rockets into the air where he thinks it is lost forever — until the sky miraculously begins to rain hamburgers.
With the help of a weather intern (Anna Faris, Observe and Report) broadcasting the town’s happenings worldwide and the plan of a constantly scheming mayor (Bruce Campbell, Burn Notice) to turn the town into a tourist attraction, Flint becomes a local celebrity, and ultimately a possible hero when the machine gets out of hand.
Cloudy also boasts an impressive cast of voice actors, ranging from established actors such as James Caan (Get Smart) as Flint’s grizzled fisherman father to recent comedy hotshots Andy Samberg (Saturday Night Live) and Bobb’e J. Thompson (Role Models). In a “Is that who I think it is?” role, Mr. T (Not Another Teen Movie) provides the voice of a local police officer.
And unlike some recent ensemble casts, this team successfully meshes together, with no one voice overtaking another. That rarity, and the overall successful pacing of the movie, can be chalked up to two people: the writing-directing team of Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Extreme Movie).
There is plenty of life in these characters, and it adds a great deal to the film. The movie really hits its high notes when Lord and Miller allow Hader and Faris to run freely with their talents. But what really should be applauded is the script, which stays on course of the original book while branching out to create a story of its own.
Sure, there are moments aimed directly at the elementary school set, but a few jokes about bodily functions are to be expected. Lord and Miller juxtapose those jokes with subtle things such as adorning Flint’s bedroom walls with posters of Nikola Tesla and not-so-subtle re-enactments of famous scenes from The Wizard of Oz and Indiana Jones that play very well with the older crowd. There’s also a laugh-out-loud running gag involving one of Flint’s inventions and a monkey that should get any adults in attendance rolling.
The animation is solid, too, and Sony’s graphics team should be especially proud of a tracking shot during a spaghetti tornado. What isn’t as impressive is the film’s usage — or lack thereof — of 3-D effects.
With studios pushing so hard for 3-D to become the next big thing in movies, and especially in animation, they should be aiming to blow us away. The technology needs to be such that we simply couldn’t imagine seeing a film without our silly little glasses. This is not the case with Cloudy.
There were perhaps three or four moments where it was obvious the animation was leaving the screen, but other than that, this was a movie that could have — and ultimately should have — been presented in the traditional format. If we, the paying public, are to believe that 3-D isn’t just a money-grabbing gimmick, the studios are going to have to try harder than this.
But the problems with 3-D aside, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a respectable showing by Sony Pictures Animation and a nice offering to this year’s slate of animated films. It doesn’t have the staying power of Up, but it definitely has more substance than Monsters vs. Aliens. This is by no means a groundbreaking movie, but it does have more than its share of enjoyable moments, and the kids are going to love it.
So, in the big scheme of things, mission accomplished.
klucas@umdbk.com
RATING: 3 stars out of 5