As was the case
with the original, Cloudy with a Chance
of Meatballs 2 is a silly film which works because of its slap-happy
characters and groan-inducing puns. Realism and logic have no place in this wonderfully
imaginative follow-up film to the children’s book adaptation. The characters in
this film exist in a true cartoon world, where anything is possible, and this
loopy approach gives the film a distinct style of humor.
After the
disaster in the first film, Inventor Flint Lockwood (voiced by Bill Hader) has
stopped his food-making machine from overtaking the island he calls home, only
to be evacuated along with all of his family and friends. Famous food scientist
Chester V (Will Forte) takes over the island, claiming that he intends to help
with the cleanup while actually having unsavory motives of his own. Joined by
his faithful family and friends, Flint travels
back to the island with hopes of saving his home and all of the food animals
that have taken it over like a culinary Jurassic Park
There is a lot
of surface entertainment in Cloudy 2, including an onslaught of food puns and
creatively constructed “foodimals,” including tacodiles, hippotatomuses,
cheesepiders and more. Then there are animals whose name lends to jokes, such
as the leeks in every boat. This is cleverly constructed, though it is the
combination with the randomly silly humor which elevates the puns. There is far
less of substance as far as plot is concerned, but the action and jokes keep
coming at a pace which glosses over the shortcomings with fitting spectacle.
The Blu-ray
release includes a plethora of special features, including four all-new mini
movies and a handful of extras exclusive to the high definition disc. The Blu-ray
combo also includes a DVD and digital copy, and the DVD itself also has plenty
of extras. There is a filmmaker commentary as well as featurettes on various
aspects of production, including the creation of the food animals, several on
the production design, animation for the credits and a making-of featurette.
Many of the featurettes seem redundant, though there is no denying the quantity
of extras. Exclusive to the Blu-ray is an additional interactive App for phones
and tablets, as well as four additional deleted scenes.
Entertainment Value:
7.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 7/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Disc Features: 8/10
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