''Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs'' is a 2009 American computer-animated

science fiction comedy Science fiction comedy (sci-fi comedy) or comic science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that exploits the science-fiction (SF) genre's conventions for comedy, comedic effect. Comic science fiction often mocks or satirize ...

film produced by

Sony Pictures Animation Sony Pictures Animation Inc. is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and founded on May 9, 2002. The studio's films are distributed worldwide by Son ...

and loosely based on the 1978 children's book of the same name by

Judi Judi is a name with multiple origins. It is a short form of the Hebrew name Judith. It is also an Arabic name referring to a mountain mentioned in the Quran. It may refer to: *Judi Andersen (born 1958), beauty pageant titleholder from Hawaii who ...

and

Ron Barrett Ron Barrett is an American illustrator, best known for illustrating the children's book ''Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs'', which was written by his former wife, Judi Barrett. Career He is a graduate of the School of Industrial Art in New Y ...

. The film was written and directed by

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller Philip Lord (born 12 July 1975) and Christopher Miller (born 23 September 1975) are an American filmmaking duo. After a meeting at Dartmouth College, they are known for creating the adult animated sitcom ''Clone High'' (2002–2003), directing an ...

in their directorial debuts, and features the voices of

Bill Hader William Thomas Hader Jr.''Finding Your Roots'', January 26, 2016, PBS. (born June 7, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the creator, producer, writer, director, and star of the HBO dark comedy series ''Barry'' (2018 ...

Anna Faris Anna Kay Faris (; born November 29, 1976) is an American actress. She rose to prominence for her work in comedic roles, particularly the lead part of Cindy Campbell in the ''Scary Movie'' film series (2000–2006). She has appeared in a number o ...

James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972) – a performance which earned him Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...

Andy Samberg Andy Samberg (born David A. J. Samberg; August 18, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer and screenwriter. He is a member of the comedy music group The Lonely Island and was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2005 ...

, Bruce Campbell,

Mr. T Mr. T (born Laurence Tureaud, May 21, 1952), is an American actor. He is known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series ''The A-Team'' and as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film ''Rocky III''. He is also known for his ...

Benjamin Bratt Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an American actor and producer who has worked in film and on television. He had supporting roles in the 1990s in such box office hits as ''Demolition Man'' (1993), ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1994), ...

, and

Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received multiple accolades throughout ...

. The film centers around an aspiring inventor named Flint Lockwood who develops, following a series of failed experiments, a machine that can convert water into food. After the machine gains sentience and begins to develop food storms, Flint must stop it in order to save the world. The film premiered at the

Mann Village Theater The Fox Theatre, Westwood Village, also known as the Fox Village Theatre, is a historic, landmark cinema in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. Westwood Village, in the heart of Westwood, is near the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA. It ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

on September 12, 2009, and was released in the United States six days later on September 18 by

Sony Pictures Releasing Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group (commonly known as Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, formerly known as the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group until 2013, and abbreviated as SPMPG) is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainme ...

under its

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

label. It earned over $243 million worldwide on a budget of $100 million at the box office. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its colorful visuals, humor, characters, voice acting, and the score, while the simple character designs were said to be unfitting. The film has since been expanded into a

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

, with a sequel, ''

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 ''Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2'' is a 2013 American computer-animated science fiction comedy film produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. ...

'', released on September 27, 2013, as well as an animated television series based on the film that premiered on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

on February 20, 2017, with none of the original cast returning.

Plot

Aspiring scientist Flint Lockwood lives with his widowed father, Tim, and his monkey assistant, Steve, in Swallow Falls, an island in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

with an economy based on

sardines "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the I ...

. As sardines are considered unsavory by the rest of the world, the island's economy declines, forcing its citizens to subsist on a mainly sardine-based diet. One day, Flint develops the Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator, a device that converts water into food, in an effort to expand the town's diet, much to the chagrin of Tim, who, annoyed by Flint's many failed contraptions, wants him to run the family business instead. Flint's first attempt to plug in the device knocks out his house's power, so he connects the FLDSMDFR to a local substation, overloading it and sending it rocketing across town, demolishing Sardine Land, a sardine-themed amusement park meant to revitalize the town, and disappearing into the sky. The chaos earns Flint the fury of the town, of amateur field reporter Sam Sparks, and the disappointment of Tim. Soon after, cheeseburgers start falling from the sky and Flint realizes the FLDSMDFR is functioning successfully in the stratosphere, using the condensation from clouds to create food-based weather systems while keeping itself afloat. The citizens of Swallow Falls rejoice in their new food choices, renaming it Chewandswallow, and it becomes a "food tourism" destination, making Flint an international celebrity. Flint and Sam grow closer after she reveals that she was teased as a child for her glasses and her fascination with meteorology. However, Flint notices the FLDSMDFR's food has begun to gradually become bigger in size, due to the FLDSMDFR's creations mutating in the atmosphere, having been overloaded by the massive amounts of water vapor. He attempts to warn the town's mayor about the FLDSMDFR's malfunction, though the mayor is too concerned about profit and ignores him. After a tornado made of spaghetti threatens the town, Flint attempts to shut the FLDSMDFR down, only for the mayor to inadvertently destroy the console while trying to stop him, causing the machine to go rogue and generate a massive storm. Flint creates a USB flash drive designed to shut down the FLDSMDFR and uses his repurposed flying car to reach it, accompanied by Steve, Sam, her cameraman Manny, and the town's former mascot Brent. Upon reaching the FLDSMDFR, they discover it has surrounded itself in a giant meatball-like object made of food for protection. As the group bores inside, the flash drive is destroyed, prompting Flint to call Tim and instruct him to email the drive's code to his cell phone via his laboratory's computer. On reaching the FLDSMDFR, Flint connects his phone with the flash drive's code sent to it by Tim, only to discover that the wrong file was sent. All appears lost until Flint uses his Spray-On Shoes formula on the machine, causing it to explode and destroy the meatball, ending the storm. After surviving the destruction, Flint reunites with Tim, who finally shows appreciation for his son's inventions, and Sam, with whom he shares a kiss.

Voice cast

as Flint Lockwood, an unsuccessful and timid but determined young inventor, and Sam's love interest. Hader also voices the FLDSMDFR ** Max Neuwirth as young Flint *

as Samantha "Sam" Sparks, a weather intern from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and later Flint's love interest *

as Steve, Flint's pet

vervet monkey The vervet monkey (''Chlorocebus pygerythrus''), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus ''Chlorocebus''. The five distinct ...

and best friend, who communicates through a thought translator Flint invented *

as Timothy "Tim" Lockwood, Flint's

technophobic Technophobia (from Greek τέχνη ''technē'', "art, skill, craft" and φόβος ''phobos'', "fear"), also known as technofear, is the fear or dislike of advanced technology or complex devices, especially computers. Although there are numerou ...

fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...

father * Bruce Campbell as Mayor Shelbourne, corrupt Mayor *

as "Baby" Brent McHale, arrogant and dim-witted mascot of the sardine cannery *

as Officer Earl Devereaux, athletic police officer and Cal's father *

Bobb'e J. Thompson Bobb'e Jacques Thompson (born February 28, 1996) is an American actor, rapper and comedian. Career Thompson is known for playing Tracy Jr. on ''30 Rock''; his role as child trickster Stanley on ''That's So Raven'' and its first spin-off ''Cor ...

as Calvin "Cal" Devereaux, Earl's young son *

as Manny, Sam's Guatemalan cameraman and former doctor, pilot, and comedian *

Al Roker Albert Lincoln Roker Jr. (born August 20, 1954) is an American weather presenter, journalist, television personality, and author. He is the current weather anchor on NBC's '' Today'', and occasionally co-hosts '' 3rd Hour Today''. He has an in ...

as Patrick Patrickson, weather station anchorman * Lauren Graham as Fran Lockwood, Flint's late mother who always expressed her belief in her son *

Will Forte Orville Willis Forte IV ( ; born June 17, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Forte is known for being a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' (2002–2010), a recurring character on the show leading to a feature film ada ...

as Joe Towne, a

redneck ''Redneck'' is a derogatory term chiefly, but not exclusively, applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the Southern United States.Harold Wentworth, and Stuart Berg Flexner, '' ...

Angela V. Shelton Angela V. Shelton (born March 4, 1970) is an American actress and comedian. Her television credits include ''Mr. Show with Bob and David'', ''Grounded for Life'', and ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody''. Shelton was a contestant on the NBC reality s ...

as Regina Devereaux, Earl's wife and Cal's mother

Production

Development

On May 9, 2003, a year after establishment,

announced its first animated slate, including ''Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs'', a film adaptation of the book of the same name. The Brizzi brothers were brought to direct the film, with Wayne Rice adapting the screenplay. In 2006, it was reported that the film had been helmed by new directors and writers,

. Lord and Miller said later that year that it would be a homage to, and a parody of,

disaster film A disaster film or disaster movie is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject and primary plot device. Such disasters may include natural disasters, accidents, military/terrorist attacks or global catastrophes such as ...

s such as ''

Twister Twister may refer to: Weather * Tornado Aviation * Pipistrel Twister, a Slovenian ultralight trike * Silence Twister, a German homebuilt aircraft design * Wings of Change Twister, an Austrian paraglider design Entertainment * ''Twister'' (1989 ...

'', ''

Armageddon According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...

'', ''

The Core ''The Core'' is a 2003 American science fiction disaster film directed by Jon Amiel and starring Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, Stanley Tucci, D. J. Qualls, Richard Jenkins, Tcheky Karyo, Bruce Greenwood, and Alfre Woodard. The f ...

'', and ''

The Day After Tomorrow ''The Day After Tomorrow'' is a 2004 American science fiction disaster film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Roland Emmerich. Based on the 1999 book '' The Coming Global Superstorm'' by Art Bell and Whitley Strieber, the film stars De ...

''.

Story and script

After a year working on the script, Lord and Christopher Miller were fired for story issues and replaced with new writers, who after a year were also fired. Lord and Miller were then re-hired in 2006. The two completely redid the script, this time with the creative input of their crew. The new draft had the protagonist as a failed inventor who wanted to prove himself to his town. The two were almost fired again after

Amy Pascal Amy Beth Pascal (born March 25, 1958) is an American film producer and business executive. She served as the Chairperson of the Motion Pictures Group of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) and Co-Chairperson of SPE, including Sony Pictures Televis ...

, then-head of

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...

, criticized the film for lack of story. Although the film succeeded on the comedic front in the animatic stage, Pascal cited the lack of an anchoring relationship in the film as a failure in the story telling. Unable to create new characters and environments to suit the new story demands, the two elevated the character of the tackle shop extra to be the protagonist's father, thereby creating the relationship Pascal had requested. The pair's experience on ''Cloudy'' taught them two valuable lessons: the power of creative collaboration and the importance of emotion in a story.

Casting

On September 18, 2008,

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

announced that

and

had signed on to voice the two lead characters, with

, Bruce Campbell,

, Lauren Graham, and

also in the voice cast.

Animation

''Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs'' is the second film after '' Monster House'' that was made using the animation rendering software Arnold.

Music

''Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs'' is the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

to the film of the same name, released under

Sony Pictures Entertainment Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, ac ...

on September 15, 2009. The music of the film and this album are both credited to be composed and produced by American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Mark Mothersbaugh Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (; born May 18, 1950) is an American composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead singer and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose " Whip It" was a top 2 ...

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...

. "Raining Sunshine", performed by

Miranda Cosgrove Miranda Taylor Cosgrove (born May 14, 1993) is an American actress and singer. She was the highest-paid child actor in 2012 and was included on ''Forbes'' magazine's " 30 Under 30" list in 2022. She is known for her career on television, parti ...

, was released as a promotional single on August 24, 2009.

Release

''Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs'' premiered on September 12, 2009, at the Mann Village Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The film had its wide release on September 18, 2009, along with a digitally re-mastered release to IMAX 3D theatres.

Home media

The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

Disc, and PSP UMD on January 5, 2010 in the United States and Canada. A 3D Blu-ray was released on June 22, 2010. It was the first 3D Blu-ray sold individually in the United States.

Art book

In August 2009, Insight Editions published a companion book to the film called ''The Art and Making of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs''.

Reception

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has a "Certified Fresh" rating of 86% based on 142 reviews with an average rating of 7.3/10. The consensus statement reads, "Quirky humor, plucky characters and solid slapstick make this family comedy a frenetically tasty time at the movies." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

it has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 24 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. Ernest Hardy of ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'' stated the film "is smart, insightful on a host of relationship dynamics, and filled with fast-paced action". Hardy also applauded the 3-D effects which "are wonderful, full of witty sight gags that play out both center-screen and on the periphery". Michael Phillips of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' gave the film a mixed review stating that "Crazy doesn't always equal funny, and the gigantism of this 3-D offering's second half puts a damper on your enjoyment. But look: This film wasn't made for you, or me. It was made for dangerously, easily distracted 9-year-olds." Kyle Smith of the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' gave the film two stars stating that the animated film "greatly expands on the kids' book on which it's based in a clever and engaging first half. But the second half leaves a foul aftertaste."

Box office

''Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs'' earned a total of $243 million on a reported budget of $100 million. Of the gross, 51%, or $124,870,275, came from the domestic market, while the rest, $118,135,851, from other territories. For the film's marketing, Sony spent $43.3 million in the United States, and $26 million in other countries. The film earned $8,137,358 on its opening Friday, and ranked #1 at the box office with a total of $30.3 million for the first weekend. On its second weekend, it remained at #1 with a decrease of only 17%. Documents from the

Sony Pictures hack On November 24, 2014, a hacker group identifying itself as "Guardians of Peace" leaked a release of confidential data from the film studio Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE). The data included personal information about Sony Pictures employees ...

revealed the film turned a profit of $6 million.

Accolades

Expanded franchise

Sequel

A sequel, titled ''

'', was released on September 27, 2013. Directed by

Cody Cameron Cody William Cameron (born October 12, 1970) is an American voice actor, film director and storyboard artist best known for directing ''Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2''. He voiced many animated characters, including Pinocchio and the Three L ...

and Kris Pearn, and it is based on an original idea, where Flint and his friends must again save the world from his food machine, which survived the explosion in the prequel. This time, the machine gains the ability to produce living food beasts. Most of the main cast reprised their roles, but Earl, the town cop, is now voiced by

Terry Crews Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor, television host, and former American footballer. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/ CW sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris'', which aired from 2005 to 2009, and portrayed Terry Jeffords in ...

since Mr. T declined to return. New cast also includes

Kristen Schaal Kristen Joy Schaal (; born January 24, 1978) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She is best known for her voice roles as Louise Belcher on ''Bob's Burgers'' and Mabel Pines on ''Gravity Falls''. She's also known for playing Mel on '' ...

as orangutan Barb, and

in his new role of Chester V.

Television series

On October 9, 2014,

DHX Media WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of children ...

announced that it will develop and produce a television series based on the film franchise, titled ''Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: The Series''. The series will be traditionally animated and will consist of twenty-six 22-minute episodes. It will take place before the first film, showing Flint Lockwood as a high school student who dreams of becoming a serious scientist. In his adventures, he will be joined by Sam Sparks, a new girl in town and the school's "wannabe" reporter, along with Flint's dad Tim, Steve the Monkey, Manny as the head of the school's audiovisual club, Earl as a school gym teacher, Brent as a baby wear model, and mayor Shelbourne. DHX Media will handle the global television and non-US home entertainment distribution, along with worldwide merchandising rights, while Sony will distribute home entertainment in the US. Commissioned by

Teletoon Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and " cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts ...

in Canada, the series will air on

in the United States, and on the

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...

channel in other territories. None of the original cast returned for the show and are replaced by Canadian voice actors.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{Phil Lord and Christopher Miller 2009 3D films 2009 comedy films 2009 computer-animated films 2009 directorial debut films 2009 fantasy films 2009 films 2009 science fiction films 2000s American animated films 2000s children's fantasy films 2000s English-language films 3D animated films American 3D films American animated feature films American children's animated comic science fiction films American children's animated science fantasy films American computer-animated films American disaster films American fantasy comedy films Animated films based on children's books Animated films set in London Animated films set in New York City Animated films set in Paris Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (franchise) Columbia Pictures animated films Columbia Pictures films Films about father–son relationships Films about food and drink Films adapted into television shows Films directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller Films scored by Mark Mothersbaugh Films set in China Films set in Egypt Films set on fictional islands Films with screenplays by Christopher Miller (filmmaker) Films with screenplays by Phil Lord IMAX films Sony Pictures Animation films