Sometimes a trip to the unordinary and unbelievable fails to captivate an audience successfully. But that was definitely not the case in "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" - a colorful animation based on the children's picture book by Judi and Ron Barrett.
In a small town whose economy is based on the waning sardine industry, hopeful inventor Flint Lockwood (voice of Bill Hader) finally succeeds at building something that works: a machine that turns water into any kind of food imaginable. Lockwood's invention thrills the town's people, particularly the mayor who wants to use the invention to reclaim the town as a touristy hotspot.
But, as with all things, too much of one thing causes problems. While everyone greedily enjoys their T-bone steaks cooked to order from the sky, Lockwood's invention undergoes a mutation that leads to giant meatballs and pancakes falling from above like spastic rain.
The film's humorous characters - especially Flint's monkey lab assistant - well-timed writing and mesmerizing animation (in 3-D at most theatres) keep the audience laughing enough to not notice the film's setbacks.
The setbacks include the town cop, Earl Devereaux, played by Mr. T. T completely overdoes the voice and the character's simian qualities are painful to watch and borderline irresponsible. And the film could use some serious editing, especially with the annoying and unnecessary back-story of Baby Brent - immature town bully still riding his 'fame' as the baby mascot for canned sardines - voiced by Andy Samberg. Samberg is usually hilarious but Baby Brent adds no real humor to the movie and I found myself annoyed every time he came on screen.
But, those negatives aside, I'm also not a seven-year-old who doesn't think twice about Mr. T's stereotypical portrayal and who likely finds Baby Brent's cheap and immature humor hilarious.
"Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" warrants an outing to the movies, especially for the kids. And it's not too hard to get past the overdone parts to enjoy the rest of the movie's comedy.
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