Embrace the Colorful New World of "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2"

"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" (2013).

When you have a good film formula, you don't want to tamper with it too much. Audiences buying tickets to a sequel already know what to expect when they come in to see your product, and it's not a good idea to disappoint them. "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" (2013), directed by Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn from a screenplay by John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, and Erica Rivinoja, certainly does not disappoint, though it doesn't really satisfy completely, either.

Flint and Sam remain an item.

While the authors of the original source material, Judi and Ron Barrett, went off in a completely different direction with their own follow-up, "Pickles to Pittsburgh," that is not what Sony Pictures Animation, the producers of "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2," had in mind. They play it safe, simply following up the first film and repeating the same format which worked so well.


The changes basically are only those essential for continuity and adaptations from the first film to make this one smoother and more audience-friendly. That should satisfy the many viewers of the first film, though it also means the follow-up isn't as clever or inventive as the original "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs."

Just like in the original, Flint uses modern technology.

Flint Lockwood, having in the original "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" after great effort shut down the "Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator" (or "FLDSMDFR" for short), which went crazy and produced too much food, now works at Live Corp Company in San Franjose.


The entire town of Swallow Falls, in fact, has had to move there (it's a bit unclear why they all wound up in the same place) while crews from Live Corp clean up its Atlantic island. Live Corp is a kind of think tank, full of scientists and inventors who work tirelessly to make the world a better place "for the betterment of mankind." It is run by the world-famous and eccentric Chester V, who is aided by Barb, Chester's orangutan assistant.

Sam holds Barry the Strawberry.

Tim Lockwood, Flint's dad, is trying to get to know his son better, while Sam Sparks, the TV weathercaster, is still in love with Flint. Manny is Sam's cameraman, while Brent McHale is now the owner of a chain of Chick-N-Sushi restaurants. Flint's pet Vervet monkey, Steve the Monkey, is still around communicating by using the Speak and Spell thought translator that Flint invented. Steve tends to cause a lot of mischiefs while constantly reminding Flint that he's hungry.

The FLDSMDFR has created a whole new world.

Chester V, as you might imagine, has ulterior motives for hiring Flint. Take one look at his Live Corp campus, full of high-tech glass office buildings and neutral tones that contrast completely with the utterly normal and prosaic Swallow Falls, and you know that Flint and his crew are out of their element. It turns out that Chester, in fact, is not quite the benevolent despot that he, with his corporation's avowed intent to simply help people, pretends to be.

"Oh no, it's a strawberry!"

In fact, Chester's team isn't really there to clean up Swallow Falls at all. Instead, they want to fix the FLDSMDFR so that Chester can use it to buy up what little of the world he doesn't already own. Flint returns to Swallow Falls and finds that the FLDSMDFR hasn't just been fixed, but it has gone crazy and now is churning out whole new life forms, or "Foodimals."


There are cheeseburger bullies that run around on spider legs composed of French Fries, lettuce-spitting taco-dile supremes, bananostriches, PB & jellyfish, melonheads, shrimpanzees, moquitoasts, watermelophants, applie-pie-thons, and, in fact, 39 different new species of foodimals which inhabit mountains, rivers, swamps, and jungles all created by the FLDSMDFR.

"Mosquitoast."

It's very scary in a way, but the foodimals turn out to be inoffensive, even friendly. Chester, though, ultimately wants the foodimals to leave the island and inhabit the rest of the world. Flint and his crew once again, after various stops and starts, must figure out a way to shut down the FLDSMDFR before its creations invade the entire planet.

The animation really is superb in "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2."

The plot of "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" isn't any more inventive than was the plot of "Ghostbusters 2" or similar replicas of an original triumph. Once again, Flint's wayward creation is causing problems that only he, it turns out, can solve. Where "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" scores is with its animation and 3-D effects. The script is very clever in a way because it opens with the sterile, metallic-and-glass dryness of the corporate world and then juxtaposes that lifeless wasteland with the wildly and shockingly colorful and wacky creations of the FLDSMDFR. The change is a welcome relief, literally and metaphorically taking us on a journey from our own normal, everyday drab world to a wonderland filled with the kinds of crazy and exquisitely detailed alien life forms that show off animation at its best.

Flint and his sidekick, Steve the Monkey.

So, like the saying goes, the people behind "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" sell the sizzle, not the steak. The defining characteristic of "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" is characters with their mouths wide open in astonishment. There are food puns galore, a zany tone and manic pace, and lots of action. The original "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" took care and time in establishing relationships and characters, but the sequel isn't about that at all. Instead, it is loud, with screaming and running around and an excess of energy that betrays the fact that, aside from the presence of the obligatory evil guy to set in motion essentially the same complication that was at the heart of the first film, nothing new is going on.

Officer Devereaux becomes a "foodie" for a while.

Those with a historical bent might wind up comparing "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" with another zany comedy from an earlier era, "Yellow Submarine." In that earlier film, you have a similar dull, dreary world suddenly replaced by a colorful and crazy animated one. There even is a character whom the Beatles meet in "Yellow Submarine" who is vaguely reminiscent of the foodimals in "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2." A more direct link between the two films is that former Beatle Paul McCartney, whose single "New" is featured in "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2," was one of the stars of 1967's "Yellow Submarine."

There are many scenes of characters with open mouths.

Bill Hader is back as Flint, Anna Faris as Sam, James Caan as Tim, Andy Samberg as Brent, Neil Patrick Harris as Steve, and Benjamin Bratt as Manny. Will Forte, who voiced Joseph Towne in the original, rejoins the proceedings in the new character of Chester V, while Kristen Schaal does what she can with the limited role of Barb. In an interesting twist, at least for animation insiders, the foodimals are voiced by production staffers. Thus, the shrimpanzees are done by director Kris Pearn, Barry the Strawberry is voiced by director Cody Cameron, and so on and so forth. Mark Mothersbaugh composed the music, while young Australian Cody Simpson contributes the song "La Da Dee."

Neil Patrick Harris holding his character, Steve the Monkey.

Will you enjoy "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2"? Most likely, because it will be like visiting an old friend that you haven't seen in a while and are glad he is doing well. Will you wind up thinking about it weeks or months later, rhapsodizing to your friends about how clever it was and how much you want to see a sequel? Probably not, because you've already seen this before and it is unlikely to change your view of animation or anything. "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" is food for the eyes and ears, not for the mind.


Now, the best-animated films - make that, the best films in general, not just animated - focus on and explore relationships. "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" is not about exploring relationships at all because those were all established and run through in the first film. The sequel simply inserts a generic bad guy who replaces Flint's naivete with guile as a foil for Flint and his cronies to battle, and we've all seen that before. The undemanding younger crowd is probably going to like "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" the most. "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" will be dynamite, by the way, when played in the Blu-ray player right after the original - who needs that pesky character development anyway?


2020

It's Off to the Sometimes Friendly Skies with Goose, Iceman, and Dusty

"Planes" (2013).

"Planes" technically is a spin-off of the wildly successful "Cars" and "Cars 2," the latter of which introduced the idea of talking airplanes. However, cars are limited because they obviously have to stay on the ground. "Planes" makes use of the third dimension with a vengeance.



John Lasseter, the head honcho of the "Cars" production team at studio Pixar, had been the major driver behind the "Cars" films there. In the meanwhile, he had become the boss at Disney as well as Pixar. Lasseter, aside from being awesomely talented, was uniquely aware of the possibilities of the "Cars" franchise and also uniquely positioned to do something about it. He came up with the concept and story of "Planes" (2013), directed by Klay Hall for DisneyToon Studios, and wrote up the screenplay with Hall and Jeffrey M. Howard.


Having a realistic approach to "Planes," though, Lasseter, to his credit, did not try to ram it through as a major theatrical release with all the trimmings. Instead, he pawned "Planes" off on the arm of Disney that typically made direct-to-video releases, and the decision to release "Planes" theatrically was only made very late in the process. It was a good decision, too, for 'Planes" became a solid, if unspectacular, moneymaker for the studio.

Dusty is a determined lad.

Working as a cornfield cropduster, Dusty Crophopper dreams of moving on to greater things such as racing. His buddy the fuel truck, Chug, supports these dreams, but his boss, Leadbottom, and the forklift mechanic think he is delusional. Trying to qualify for the big Wings Across the World race, Dusty comes in a disappointing sixth and fails to earn a slot by one spot. However, because the finisher ahead of him was found to have cheated, Dusty moves up into fifth and thus is able to participate in the big race.

Dusty meets the big boys at JFK.

His friends still think that Dusty is just setting himself up for disappointment, and an old navy war plan named Skippy tries to talk him out of the attempt. However, Dusty's enthusiasm wins Skippy over, and he begins training on speed and agility. A major problem develops in that Dusty, who crop-dusts at low altitudes, turns out to have a fear of heights ("acrophobia"), but he perseveres. At the race, held at JFK Airport in New York City, Dusty befriends Mexican racer El Chupacabra, who is in love with fellow French-Canadian racer Rochelle. Dusty also finds love with fellow competitor Ishani. Not everyone there is friendly to Dusty, however, as repeat winner Ripslinger treats him with disdain.

El Chupacabra is Mexican.

The race, which will circle the globe, begins with Dusty falling far behind the leaders because of his acrophobia. During the race's second leg, Dusty still has problems but saves fellow racer Bulldog from death. Dusty is still trying hard, and Ishani gives him some inside tips about flying in India which unexpectedly enables Dusty to make up ground on the leaders. However, he learns that Ishani, in fact, was trying to sabotage him on behalf of Ripslinger by sending him on a dangerous route.

Bulldog, voiced by John Cleese, is British.

From India, the planes have to fly over the Himalayas, known as "The Hump." Dusty has renewed confidence and takes the lead. He also helps El Chupacabra win over Rochelle by singing to her. Ripslinger is upset at Dusty taking over the lead and again tries to ruin his chances by destroying Dusty's navigational equipment before the hazardous flight over the Pacific. Lost in the vastness of the ocean, Dusty is saved by fighter aircraft from the US aircraft carrier "Flysinhower." These scenes with the fighters Bravo and Echo (voiced unsubtly but, have to admit, satisfactorily by Val Kilmer and Anthony Edwards - what, Tom Cruise was too busy to show up, too?) really give the animators a chance to flex their muscles and are the high point of the film. This is the type of scene where Disney being Disney, able to produce just the right stunt casting, makes all the difference.

Ripslinger.

On the carrier, Dusty learns that Skipper was not quite the hero that everybody believes, having only flown one mission. While flying from the carrier to the leg's finish line in Mexico, Dusty gets caught up in a storm due to his thoughts about Skipper and crashes, but he is rescued. Skipper later tells Dusty that the one mission he flew on had been a disaster, with all the trainees under his command slaughtered by the enemy. Dusty wants to quit the race, but he has accumulated many fans and friends, and they fix him up and enable him to continue on.

The "Flysinhower" fighters.

The final route is from Mexico back to JFK in New York. Ripslinger still fears the young cropduster, however, and has his thugs ambush Dusty. Skipper arrives just in time, though, and saves Dusty, but Ripslinger now has a big lead. Dusty summons up the willpower to overcome his fear of heights, riding the high and fast jetstream to just nip Ripslinger at the finish line when the leader slows to have his picture taken. Dusty wins, Ripslinger crashes, and Skipper and Dusty decide to enter service on the Flysinhower and serve their country.

Ishani flies by the Taj Mahal.

"Planes" is colorful, full of amiable character actors such as John Cleese in the small role of Bulldog and Stacy Keach in the standard "old but wise mentor" part that infests Hollywood adventure films, from "The Karate Kid" down to "The Hunger Games." Dane Cook gamely tries to salvage something from his failing Hollywood career as Dusty and does a good job. While everybody is competent enough, there isn't a single real stand-out in the entire voice cast.



Julia Louis-Dreyfus is wasted in the role of El Chupacabra's girlfriend (Chupa is played by Carlos Alazraqui), and Priyanka Chopra presumably was cast as Ishani because she sounds convincing as someone who would know valuable information about India. Strangely enough, though, Priyanka may be the most interesting thing about "Planes," which isn't exactly the greatest feat in film history. The voice cast is far from being the worst in a major animation film release, but it isn't a high point of "Planes," either.

Skipper apparently is a World War II Corsair.

Where "Planes" really excels is with its 3-D animation itself. There are plenty of opportunities for scenic shots of Dusty busting through the sky and performing maneuvers with his propeller aircraft as if he were an advanced jet fighter. When analyzing the impact of an animated film, never underestimate the raw power of the visuals. While the execution is pro forma and far below the heights reached by the two previous "Cars" films, the plot set-up is tailor-made for the animation to work its magic, and it does. Of course, you may also get tired of endless shots of airplanes zipping around a blue sky and acting cute, but that's only likely if you've played too much Microsoft Flight Simulator back in the day.

The beautiful Priyanka Chopra voices Ishani.

Given the supreme flying scenes, even the mediocre-to-poor script can't sink "Planes." If you have trouble figuring out the whole story and ending of "Planes" the first time Dusty starts dreaming about becoming a racer and winning big races, well, perhaps you haven't seen too many films. The script is so weak that it almost seems as if someone at Disney simply programmed into the machine "do something with airplanes like the cars in 'Cars,' but this time make our hero more like Luke Skywalker" and hit a button, resulting in a story of a downtrodden young man so full of ability but just not with an opportunity to show the world how wonderful he truly is. If that basic story hasn't been done a hundred times in Hollywood, it's pretty darn close. It's the male version of "Cinderella." Perfunctory nods to classics of the aircraft genre such as "Top Gun" are spit out by the computer as well.

A preview of "Planes: Fire and Rescue."

"Planes" somehow turned a nice profit during its theatrical release despite coming in not first, not second, but third during its opening weekend. Overseas audiences did the trick, which is perhaps understandable given the cosmopolitan settings of "Planes." For a film produced for the direct-to-video market, that is an astonishing success. Never, ever doubt the lingering power of a successful franchise. A sequel, "Planes: Fire and Rescue," is being prepared for a July 18, 2014 release, and if that quick turn-around time gives you pause about just how good the sequel could possibly be, well, it should. The budget for "Planes" was light, which is what kept it profitable, and Disney is unlikely to tamper with that winning formula for the sequel.

"Planes: Fire & Rescue" is the sequel, and it has a release date of July 18, 2014. You can see the trailer for the sequel here.

Below is the trailer for "Planes," and a "Planes" 3-pack already is available. You may also see some other videos and other promotional material we previously assembled for "Planes" by clicking here. Disney's "Planes" takes flight to Blu-ray Combo Pack and Digital HD on November 19, 2013.


2020

"Monsters vs. Aliens" (2009).

"Monsters vs. Aliens" (2009), directed by Conrad Vernon and Rob Letterman for DreamWorks Animation, is a fun parody of classic monster movies. While not using the actual characters from the films it parodies, "Monsters vs. Aliens" is fairly obvious in what it is doing and why.


However, you don't have to have seen any of the films it is referencing to enjoy "Monsters vs. Aliens," though that adds another layer of enjoyment for those who have put in the time watching "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman," "The Fly," "The Blob," "Star Trek" and similar classics of the genre.

"And now for the weather"

Susan Murphy is about to get married to weatherman Derek Dietl, but right before her wedding, she is struck by a meteorite. Exposed to the mysterious substance quantonium, Susan suddenly starts growing in size during the wedding ceremony. The government is alerted to her condition and captures her, secluding her on a remote military installation under the code name "Ginormica."


The military base also is home to B.O.B., an alien blob; Dr. Cockroach, a man with the head of a cockroach; Insectosaurus, a huge grub; and Missing Link, a fish-ape hybrid. General W.R. Monger runs the top-secret home to these assorted monsters.

Will Arnett is Missing Link.

Gallaxhar, a powerful alien, wants to gather quantonium for himself because it has powerful properties that he can use to take over the universe. He notices that earth suddenly seems to have some quantonium, so he dispatches a robot probe. The robot meets the United States President, President Hathaway, but the robot isn't interested in peace and starts destroying everything.


General Monger is alerted to the deteriorating situation and unleashes his collection of monsters to fight the robot in exchange for their freedom. The monsters manage to defeat the robot at the Golden Gate Bridge.

Dr. Cockroach is voiced by Hugh Laurie.

Now free, Susan tries to return and resume her life, but she and her monster friends cause chaos in the neighborhood. Derek now wants nothing to do with her, so Susan accepts the fact that life is going to be different forever. Gallaxhar now appears and kidnaps Susan, bringing her to his spaceship.


Susan winds up in Gallaxhar's machine which extracts the quantonium from her body, shrinking Susan back down to normal size. Using the extracted quantonium, Gallaxhar begins cloning an army with which to achieve his evil plans of domination.

"Oh, no!"

It now is up to B.O.B., Dr. Cockroach and Missing Link to save the world. They board Gallaxhar's spaceship and rescue Susan. Then, they program the ship's computer to self-destruct and blow up the spaceship. The monsters, though, become trapped within the ship's power core, which is due to explode. Susan is able to find Gallaxhar, who is trying to escape with the quantonium, and she manages to restore her earlier giant size. This enables Susan to save the other monsters, who escape when General Monger appears on Insectosaurus, who has transformed into a giant butterfly. Gallaxhar remains in his ship, which explodes.

Modern woman.

Everybody returns home, where Susan dumps Derek and the monsters confront a new menace, a giant snail named Escargantua which is destroying Paris.

"Ginormica, reporting for duty!"

There is no question that "Monsters vs. Aliens" is a clever film. In fact, it is so clever that it may be a little bit too clever for many prospective audience members. "Monsters vs. Aliens" is a lot like DreamWorks' "Megamind," another attempt to deconstruct and parody the sci-fi monster genre. If you get the reference, for instance, to the self-destruct idea which was a recurring convention in the original "Star Trek" series, it is amusing in that knowing way that perhaps makes some folks feel affirmed in their geekiness or something. Making the computer a bit snarky no doubt fulfills the desire of some to have the imagined pomposity of the original "Star Trek" series deflated a bit.

DVD Cover.

There also are ample opportunities to dwell upon how empowered modern-day Susan is compared to women back in the day when the originals were made. "Monsters vs. Aliens" is all about showing, in back-handed fashion, how out of date the original versions are in our "End of History" and post-feminist era. The crux is that "Monsters vs. Aliens" isn't really adding anything new to the genre, it simply is altering and updating previous characterizations. That is enjoyable, but it doesn't put "Monsters vs. Aliens" itself in the classic category.

Susan and friends.

However, there are also many viewers who either aren't up on all the allusions or who even cherish the originals and might resent them being made fun of by some modern wise guys. They also might not like being made to feel like dinosaurs simply because they still enjoy the originals. A little pomposity-pricking goes a long way. And, then, there are many who simply aren't into the, you know, pomposity-pricking. Sorry, I like that term, pomposity-pricking, can you tell? That's kind of the feel you'll get from "Monsters vs. Aliens," overly self-referential genuflections to how satisfying it is to be self-indulgent and amuse oneself. Pomposity-pricking all over the place.

Can you tell what classic film is being parodied here? I bet you can.

Make no mistake, though, "Monsters vs. Aliens" stands on its own and is a fine film with a coherent plot. The visuals are stellar, and this was DreamWorks' first film in stereoscopic 3-D animation. The monsters are rendered in awesome fashion,  and while they are not that original, that isn't surprising since this is a parody. Still - they aren't very original.

Susan is quite the daredevil.

That "Monsters vs. Aliens" plays in a jokey fashion, with all the monster heroes being flawed and human, is not necessarily a drawback unless you start to feel condescended to, which is an endemic problem with parodies. "Monsters vs. Aliens" is all about exploding conventions, but keep in mind that the original conventions were there for a reason, and a little convention-exploding goes a long way. A lot of convention-exploding, as here, meanwhile, can get annoying, as can the occasional bathroom humor if you are older than, say, fifteen.

Does Gallaxhar remind you of any other sci-fi film?

Reese Witherspoon voices Susan in her normally perky manner, while Seth Rogen plays B.O.B., Hugh Laurie from "House" voices Dr. Cockroach, Will Arnett is Missing Link and Conrad Vernon makes suitable sounds (it is not a speaking part) as Insectosaurus. Rainn Wilson from "The Office" was riding a crest of popularity and is Gallaxhar, while Kiefer Sutherland is a standout as General Monger. Henry Jackman composed the soundtrack, which also contains classics from the B-52s, Little River Band, Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs and others. There is a decidedly retro flavor to the music, which reinforces the parody theme.

Never let a mere bridge get in your way!

"Monsters vs. Aliens" was successful, though only moderately so (for a top-shelf animated film), grossing $381.5 million worldwide. Foreign audiences, i.e., ones that weren't as conversant with the films being parodied as U.S. viewers, did not appreciate the film as much as domestic audiences did. "Monsters vs. Aliens" has spawned a cottage industry of television specials, a short film and video game, and a television series. No doubt a sequel will appear someday, but there are no plans to make one at the moment.


2020