Review: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2

Release date: September 27, 2013
Running time: 95 minutes
Starring: Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Will Forte, Andy Samberg, Neil Patrick Harris
Who to see it with: Your hungry friend or child

David:

Full disclosure here, I didn't see the first Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs because I didn't like the idea of a movie that was *very* loosely based on one of my favorite children's books. However, after hearing good things about the first one, I decided to check out the sequel. And I am sure glad that I did. The film follows the group of unlikely heroes from the first movie as they have to explore more consequences from Inventor Flint Lockwood's FLDSMDFR. The friends travel to a mysterious island that is inhabited by living food animals. The movie has a very Jurassic Park or King Kong feel to it as the group delves deeper into this bizarre world. 

The interesting premise is enough to wet your appetite, but the real meat of this movie is the beautiful animation and great voice acting. The characters and art style have a very fluid motion that is tough to explain but really fun to watch. The aforementioned food animals, in addition to being imaginative, are beautifully animated. They are all very expressive with clever uses of food to portray a variety of wildlife. From taco-diles to shrimp-anzees to hi-potato-muses, all the food-related animals are cleverly designed and fun to see. The voice acting is really good with characters brought to life by believable performances. CWACOM 2 requires some pretty expressive and varied voices and it's all done wonderfully. NPH is especially good as Lockwood's monkey friend Steve. He doesn't have many lines but they're all perfectly executed. In addition to the great voice acting, the writing is sharp and clever. Although it's an animated movie, there are plenty of jokes that adults will laugh at and pop-culture references that will keep the parents entertained. CWACOM 2 is imaginative, has a clever premise, and is a fun movie for both viewers who were hungry for a CWACOM sequel and those who are having the sequel as their first taste of this franchise. 

See it.

PS - There are some very funny stingers after the movie ends and at the start of the credits. Make sure to stay for them! 

3D Note - The 3D is beautiful. If you can afford it, see it in 3D.