VOD film review: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Review Overview
Cloudy with a Chance of Fun
10Cloudy with a Chance of Colour
10Cloudy with a Chance of Food Puns
10James Butlin | On 17, Nov 2013
Directors: Phil Lord, Chris Miller
Cast: Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Bruce Campbell
Certificate: U
Watch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs online in the UK: Sky Cinema / NOW / Prime Video (Buy/Rent) / TalkTalk TV / Apple TV (iTunes) / Google Play
Swallow Falls. An island town. The main export: sardines. The people live a grey, tasteless, monotonous life. The only person to have any kind of ambition is Flint Lockwood (Hader), an inventor who, up until now, hasn’t managed to come up with any invention of any worth. That is, until he comes up with the Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator (FLDSMDFR for short), a machine that will use water to create any kind of food you wish.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s debut feature film (they’ve since gone on to make the very brilliant 21 Jump Street and the upcoming LEGO Movie) is a delight, creating a children’s film that is unafraid to be incredibly childish, without being cringe-worthy. Most of this comes from the storyline already being outlandish, giving rise to a number of puns, ridiculous situations and moments of genuine hilarity.
The key to the success comes from the strong voice cast, the core of which is held up by a strong comic turn from Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Neil Patrick Harris and Anna Faris. Alongside these is a mixture of cult favourites from Mr. T to Bruce Campbell.
The result is a colourful animated journey into a world of giant food and adventure; Lord and Miller seem to be a couple of men-children putting together a film that they know kids will love while at the same time melting even the iciest adult’s heart. It’s as feel-good as you can get.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is available on Sky Cinema. Don’t have Sky? You can also stream it on NOW, as part of an £11.99 NOW Cinema Membership subscription. For the latest Sky TV packages and prices, click the button below.