Today's Review: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2: ****/*****, or 7/10

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs remains an overlooked piece of animation from recent years. Maybe because it's not a Pixar movie, maybe because it doesn't have as distinct a style as the likes of Aardman or Laika's stop motion features, maybe it's because it does have a somewhat generic quality to it at first glimpse. That said, it's a blast of a film, a great joy from beginning to end. And apparently it did well enough at the boxoffice to spawn a successor, as Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 has now thundered into theaters.

Its title is a work of deception, aimed to convince audiences this is indeed a sequel. There's few meatballs to be found here, while the meteorological aspect has been toned down significantly. What remains is the characters from the first film, as well as the delightfully whimsical humour and offbeat visual design that characterized the previous movie. Though the directors of the original film decided to do The LEGO Movie instead, they left the project in the capable hands of people who understood and appreciated the quirky subject matter.

After his home island of Swallow Falls got covered in edible stuff during a giant foodstorm he partially caused, young inventor Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) and his friends have relocated to the big city of San Franhosé, where Flint is now working for Live Corp, a big company of science enthusiasts created by his idol Chester V (Will Forte). While that firm is also attempting to clean up the island to make it livable for the human population again, strange things happen to the mop-up crew and Chester calls on Flint for aid. Against his mentor's advice, he recruits his friends, including his girlfriend Sam (Anna Faris) and his stern father (James Caan), to help him in his mission. To their astonishment, Swallow Falls has reverted to a wild, primordial jungle, inhabited by all manner of strange animals and plants, some friendly, others dangerous. And it's all made out of food. Exploring this new wilderness he inadvertently created, Flint finds that not all is as it seems and starts questioning his allegiance. Flint soon must choose between the side of science and cold reasoning or to stick to his irrational friends and family instead, as the two sides of himself prove at odds over the future of the island and its wildlife. 

 

Cloudy 2 swaps food weather for food animals. That's not a bad thing, as it avoids lazy repetition. No more zany weather patterns like spaghetti tornadoes, now we have 'foodimals' like shrimpanzees and hippotatomuses. It will come as no surprise that a lot of the jokes are provided by such play-on-words, some ingenious, others less clever. Nevertheless, the wonderful look of these beasties – including the cutest strawberries ever! – clearly shows the fun the animators must have had while designing this film. At the same time, the characters we came to know and love from the previous film are left intact. Sadly, not all of them are given their due, as the emotional core of the movie is personified by Flint's idol on one side and his father and girl on the other. The remaining supporting characters are doing just that, without contributing to the whole much. Though the energetic cop Earl and the multi-talented cameraman Manny are still good for a laugh or two, they could have been left out altogether, in favour of developing the new antagonist more closely. No mistake is made from the beginning on that the expert sillywalker Chester is the bad guy, though in the end, the motivations of his diabolical schemes leave something to be desired, considering his supposed intellect. Cloudy 2 can definitely be accused of putting more focus on the look of the film than on the development of its characters.

Such slights are easily forgiven, as the film provides an excellent second course in terms of visuals. The fabulous forests of foodstuff, the clinically clean Live Corp headquarters, the quirky cityscapes, it all looks delectable to behold. Whereas the beasts of the jungle are obviously Jurassic Park inspired, their dwelling place takes a note or two from Avatar's pages, adorned with bioluminescence and all manner of bizarre features. This visual feast definitely sets Cloudy 2 apart from its predecessor, which proved more simple and primitive in this regard, giving it a look and feel all its own. As the plot was inspired by JP, so too the eye candy is only loosely based on Cloudy 1, instead of merely carbon copying it.

The elaborate visuals notwithstanding, there's a thing or two to be said against the film's morality. Its message is one of ecological respect, speaking out against the rape of nature for the sake of making money. However, as cute as the foodimals may be, they remain aberrations. An ecosystem has formed on this island, but what of the original ecosystem that had to make place for it? Our heroes connect to these creatures, seeing them as more than food, because they have grown to be living, breathing entities. But what of the sardines they happily consume, which were living, breathing entities to begin with? Should they not also fall under the same category? Where do the protagonists draw the line in deciding which creatures to stand up for, and which to see as mere food? Uneasy questions like these are formed when they do not eat animals made of food, but teach them how to fish for normal lifeforms instead.

It seems such questions never occurred to the writers, as the story of Cloudy 2 is subject to the execution in terms of jokes and visual flair. The latter works its magic throughout, awing us with one spectacular sight after another and charming us with their inhabitants, both human and food. The former is good for a smile all through the piece: though the number of truly memorable jokes remains somewhat limited compared to the previous installment, most gags prove effective in the short bursts they seem designed for. If the first movie was the main course, Cloudy 2 is a fine dessert, a four-flavoured sorbet, comprised of your favourite taste, two others you like fine, and one you never really cared for.