Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Review by Sean Lynch

So I think we can safely assume that 3D is here... and it's here to stay. Forget about those dodgy paper glasses that cut you behind the ears from the 1980s. Nowdays, you literally can't step into a cinema without being bombarded with "kind of cool" x-ray specs which totally transform how you experience the medium.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs was the latest to jump on the bandwagon, and boy, did it take every opportunity it can get to exploit 3D for all it's worth!

But how does a film like this hold up on DVD? Without the aid of 3D covering up any flaws that a 2D audience may have noticed because they werne't distracted by shiny flashing 3D objects?

Thankfully, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs is easily one of the most delicious CGI flicks since macaroni met cheese (or, to be more accurate, since Shrek) - quite frankly, it makes your mouth water... or perhaps I'm just a little bit of a fatty.

Inspired by the beloved children's book (are there any children's books that aren't "Beloved" these days?), Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain.

Bill Hader, star of Saturday Night Live and most recently Adventureland voices our hero Flint Lockwood, a young inventor who dreams of creating something that will improve everyone's life.

Everyones favourite funny girl, Anna Faris (who most recently made us all drool in The House Bunny) takes on the role of Sam Sparks, a weathergirl covering the phenomenon who hides her intelligence behind a perky exterior. James Caan (you know, the guy that got "all shot up" in The Godfather movies) plays Tim Lockwood, Flint's technophobic father.

Andy Campbell is also on board and plays Mayor Shelbourne, who figures out that Flint's invention can put the town, and more importantly himself, on the map while Mr. T plays the by-the-rules town cop Earl Devereaux.

It's almost impossible to wade through the amount of kid-centric CGI flicks these days. By and large, they are pretty damn good - and Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs is no different. 

There are plenty of gags to keep both the mums and tikes giggling away, the effects are pretty damn slick (as they should be with a $200M budget), and most importantly, it's just a good old fashioned fun way to spend the afternoon.

Leave your brain at the door, chuck on some futuristic looking glasses, and just enjoy the ride... I know I did.

DVD Special Features

Directors' Commentary with Bill Hader, a crazy number of featurettes which cover just about every aspect of the film, a very cool "Flint's Food Fight Game" for the kids, as well as a music video from Miranda Cosgrove and a Sing-Along option.

Well worth getting, if only because you know the kids will happily sit in front of this for at least two and a half hours.

Conclusion: Movie 55% Extras: 20%