Music, Movies, Stars, etc.

It’s been a while since I’ve made a bullet-point movie review… so let me do it again. And again – this one’s on an animated movie – Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

• The title itself gives a hint on what the story is about – Food Rain. Yup, this film is one of those which best fits the limitless capabilities of making animated films. Imagine it’s raining cheeseburgers, t bone steak, bacon, ICE CREAM!, and more… If that would happen in reality, it would be both a blessing and a boon. Imagine, you won’t need to work or cook for you to have something to it BUT, you would have to spend lots of your time and energy cleaning up the food that’s everywhere.

• I like the animation and the whole creative “It’s raining FOOD – literally” idea. The animation was really splendid and the story really tested its limits. I wasn’t very impressed of the slapstick comedy however – and sometimes, I think the jokes ruin the claim that the film is “a movie for the family”. On a positive note, the story makes it interesting for adults and the animation makes it perfect for kids.
• The movie is loosely based on a book of the same name. The children’s book was written by Judi Barrett and illustrated by Ron Barrett. In the book however, Chewandswallow was not a sardine-blessed city (I happen to love fish) and there was no Flint Lockwood and no “FLDSMDFR” machine. Chewandswallow was an island where the weather comes three times a day to bring – breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

• Aside from the whole blatant “don’t-abuse-technology” theme, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs also has that “father-and-son” drama, “no-to-nerd-discrimination” premise, and the “Believe in yourself and be yourself” idea. It’s actually packed with tons of life lessons and values for your kids.
• You won’t love the ‘protagonist’ of the movie (or is it only me?). The character of “Flint Lockwood” may be a genius underdog but he’s someone most viewers wouldn’t want to feel sorry for. The whole movie is actually about him – and it’s delivered from his point of view but somehow, there is something lacking in his character and in the end, you won’t feel much sympathy for him partly. You’d probably love “Sam Sparks” more (voiced by Anna Faris) or Flint’s father (Tim)… or “Steve” the monkey (He’s cute!)… And I almost forgot – the doctor-pilot-comedian camera man, Manny.
• This is probably the only disaster movie which tackles apocalypse without the issue of food scarcity. Lol. Anyway, it’s fast-paced, it’s an interesting adventure, it presents engaging characters and its visuals are delectable. I love it.

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