Ani-MAY-tion Month: Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 (2013)

I really enjoyed Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. Really REALLY enjoyed it. So I don't know why I assumed the sequel was just some rushed cash-in, without any of the same people in the main voice roles. It's not. In fact, this is a sequel on a par with the first movie. It's consistently cute from start to finish, but manages to undercut that cuteness with sharp humour, amusing puns (okay, I found some of them hilarious), and bright, imaginative sequences throughout.

Leading directly on from the events of the first movie, the residents of Swallow Falls are invited to move elsewhere while their island and town are cleaned up. Inventor Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) is given the chance of a lifetime, when he's offered a job at LIVE Corp, the company ruled over by his hero, Chester V (Will Forte). But Chester V has a secret agenda, and only wants Flint nearby to keep an eye on him. The machine that caused so much trouble in the first movie hasn't shut down. It is, in fact, now helping to create a variety of food-based lifeforms. Flint is asked to go back to the island to help fix the situation, and his friends won't let him go back alone.

Just like the first movie, every aspect of this film just feels right. That's not to say that it's a perfect film, oh no, but it IS a load of fun from start to finish, full of creativity and jokes that should make you laugh out loud (well, they made ME laugh out loud). Hader and Forte are both very good in their roles, but they're helped out by a supporting cast that includes Anna Faris, Andy Samberg, Benjamin Bratt, James Caan, Terry Crews (voicing the character originally voiced by Mr. T in the first film), and Kristen Schaal.

Directors Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn have a lot of fun working from the script by Erica Rivinoja, John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein. They have so much fun, in fact, that it fills up almost every frame, guaranteeing that viewers of all ages will keep smiling throughout.

Anyone who hates some quality punning may be a bit put out, but I distrust anyone who hates some quality punning anyway. Everyone else is pretty much guaranteed a great time. If you liked the first movie as much as I did then you'll also like this. It's smart, it's silly, it's highly rewatchable. Get to it ASAP if you have good taste (taste, see, because of all the food content in the movie - see? See?).*

8/10

http://www.amazon.com/Cloudy-Chance-Meatballs-Disc-Combo/dp/B0090SI39I/ref=sr_1_4?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1399762396&sr=1-4&keywords=cloudy+with+a+chance+of+meatballs+2

*Yeah, sorry about that.