“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2” brings back the voices of Bill Hader (Flint), Anna Faris (Sam Sparks) and Andy Samberg (Brent McHale), and brings in newcomers Will Forte as Chester V, Kristen Schaal as Barb and Terry Crews, who replaces Mr. T as Earl. The voice actors were good choices who I thought it fit well with their respective characters and made them more relatable for the kids.
“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2” takes place right after the events of the first film, where the devastation left by the FLDSMDFR forces all residents to leave Swallow Falls. Naive Flint is asked to join his idol Chester V at Live Corp, and Flint learns that his FLDSMDFR is still operational and is now creating foodimals. Are the foodimals out to take over the world or do they knew something about Live Corp that we do not?
Overall, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2” is a nicely-done film with the themes of respecting nature and the value of friendship, plus the value of family through Flint and Chester V and the consequences of those actions. Chester V has no compassion for the foodimals and wants them destroyed and Flint’s fascination with Chester V makes him believe the foodimals are bad as well. Luckily, Sam provides the voice of reason as she believes the foodimals are not as dangerous as Chester V makes them seem and we can find there is more to them.
Chester V has no friends other than himself, as he literally has holograms of himself throughout the film, while Flint, Sam, Carl, Manny and Brent have a very tight relationship. Despite the dangers of returning back to Swallow Falls, they all return to aid Flint in his mission to find his FLDSMDFR. As in real life, friends will sometimes bicker and make up, and in this film, that is represented in a nice way so kids will get the message that things can be resolved without fighting. Family is another common theme and Flint’s relationship with his father gets better as the film goes along, The foodimals also show us the value of family rather it be their own species or ecosystem. By the film’s end, kids will learn from the actions of Chester V and Flint and it will be an obvious choice.
Ultimately, I enjoyed the clever names for the foodimals and the visuals were great (the character everyone liked the most was Barry). “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2” is a great film for the entire family. Check it out when it hits theaters Sept. 27.
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