Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (PG, 2009)

common sense media says

Age-appropriate 3-D food adventure doesn't fully satisfy.


parents & educators say
  • 49% say there are positive messages
  • 28% say there are positive role models

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this adaptation of the classic children's book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is bound to attract the 10-and-under set. While there's nothing overtly age-inappropriate in the movie, expect a bit of salty language along the lines of "hell" and and the occasional mild insult like "stupid" or "knuckle scrapers." The few tense/slightly scary scenes are weather- and giant food-related -- which could upset little kids who are sensitive to fears about natural disasters -- and there's a brewing romance between the main character and a weather reporter. Although no grand life lessons are offered, the movie does center on a son's need for fatherly encouragement and the idea that you shouldn't compromise who you are just to be popular. The movie's plot is very different than the book's, so anyone expecting a straight adaptation will be disappointed.

Educational value: Not much, unless you consider the movie as some sort of lesson about not eating genetically modified food.
Positive messages: The messages in this movie aren't hit-you-over-the-head obvious, but kids who watch may take away positive ideas about being liked for who you really are and not having to change your appearance just to be cool. There's also a recurring theme about parents needing to have faith in their children, as well as negative consequences for unchecked greed.
Positive role models: Flint shows Sam that she's beautiful even when she's "nerdy" and that she shouldn't dumb herself down for anyone. Flint's father learns to be supportive.
Violence & scariness: A hurricane of food threatens to destroy Chew and Swallow, as well as other major cities around the world. Characters are in danger/peril due to enormous falling food -- and other food mutations (including somewhat creepy headless chickens). The "rat birds" are humorously creepy and pop up again and again -- in one case, a rat bird snatches up the "world's biggest sardine."
Sexy stuff: Sam and Flint flirt with each other on several occasions, and in one sequence it's clear that Flint is "pursuing" Sam to be his girlfriend. After almost kissing a couple of times, they finally do kiss.
Language: Mild insults and language include "hell hole," "knuckle scrapers," "crazy jerk," "stupid," etc.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.

More on Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
  • Families can talk about the movie's message about compromising yourself for the sake of popularity. Is that ever worth it? How does Sam change once she knows that Flint likes that she's actually smart?
  • How does the movie portray technology? When does the experiment go wrong?
  • Why does Flint want his father's approval so badly? Does his father have a point in discouraging Flint's inventions?

What's the story?

What's the story?
Based loosely (very loosely) on the popular children's book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, this animated adventure takes the book's story about a town where weather provides fully cooked meals and turns it into a 3-D fantasy about Flint Lockwood (voiced by Bill Hader), a young inventor who creates a device that transforms water into food. When Flint's invention is launched into the sky, he inadvertently saves the town of Swallow Falls from financial and nutritional ruin. Helping the town make its unique claim to fame is weather reporter Sam (Anna Faris), who's smitten with Flint. As the Swallow Falls residents (especially the fatter-and-fatter mayor, voiced by Bruce Campbell) become greedier with their daily meal requests , Flint's invention becomes more and more overheated -- until it leads to a culinary disaster that could destroy the world.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

Sony Pictures Animation may not be Pixar (and, to be fair, no studio is Pixar), but it previously scored with the fantastically imaginative Monster House, the charming buddy comedy Open Season, and the penguin's paradise Surf's Up. Cloudy seems like a step backward, even though it's an obvious transition into the profitable 3-D genre. The voice talent is there (Faris, in particular, is an adroit voice actress, and Mr. T is laugh-aloud funny as an overly eager town cop), but the story is not only completely unlike the book upon which it's supposedly based but, frankly, a tad unengaging for adult audiences, who are by now used to more sophisticated animated films.

That's not to say that parents won't laugh along with their young children at the sight of a Neapolitan-ice-cream snowfall or a drizzle of steak falling onto diners' plates at a trendy, roofless restaurant.  But part of the book's magic is that it's a bedtime tale about a town where food just rains down. The movie, by comparison, seems like a cautionary tale about dependence on genetically modified "techno-food" -- a science experiment gone amok. Despite the occasional jokes, there's no emotional attachment to the main character, the way you feel about Shrek, Nemo, Woody, or even Sid the Sloth. By the end, the hurricane of pasta and avalanche of leftovers might as well bury the town. Then at least the 3-D effects would at least be spectacular.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Columbia Tristar
Director: Chris Miller, Phil Lord
Cast: Andy Samberg, Anna Faris, Bill Hader
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 81 minutes
Theatrical release: September 18, 2009
DVD release: January 5, 2010
MPAA Rating: PG
MPAA explanation: brief mild language
Watch our review

This review was written by Sandie Angulo Chen
 
 

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What parents & educators say

5
Based on 78 parent & educator reviews:
  • 49% say there are positive messages
  • 28% say there are positive role models

Most useful reviews by all members

arobulack
parent of 7 year old
 
Kids Movie of 2009: Funny, Witty, and Lighthearted
I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I've watched this movie at least 5 times with my 6-year-old, but we both absolutely love it. The script is amazing, the dialogue is super witty, and the storyline is perfect in pitch, length, and tone. Some of the jokes are laugh-out-loud funny (if you set aside your critical facilities and just prepare for fun), and the segues between some of them are absolutely brilliant. Personally, this was the kids movie of the year in 2009 for me.

grasley627
parent of 8 year old
 
Allergic Reaction by one of the Main Characters is a Concern
There is a scene late in the movie where the weather girl has an allergic reaction to peanut brittle. For any child with an allergy this can be very scary if they are not prepared for it. This also is an issue with Meet the Robinsons.

Snoozhe
parent of 4 and 7 year old
 
Younger than 5 can watch, but won't enjoy it as much.
I'm surprised at how much myself and my family liked this movie. It was silly, of course, but the most humorous parts continued through the movie--keeping the laughs coming. I heard people laughing out loud, which I haven't heard in a long time. It was a really fun movie.

 
Why is this only rated two stars?
This is a very nice movie. It does contain many scenes that little kids might find frightening such as a character being "eaten" by giant cooked chicken (he survived, so no worries). Also there is mild language such as "hellhole" and "holy crap"

princessleal
kid, 12 years old
 
love it.

AppleNell
parent of 6 and 9 year old
 
Sunny With a Certainty of Laughter
I first saw this movie as a hotel room rental I bought to pacify the kids whilst I was trying to answer some email. I wandered into their room, began to watch, and promptly fell on the bed laughing so hard there were tears in my eyes. This is one of the most inventive, mind grabbing, rioutous kids movies I've ever seen. Quotes from it have become part of our familial lexicon. To ineptly rip off a line from another movie, "it had me at 'Rat Birds!'" The movie's greatest of many charms is its incredible and non-stop inventiveness that's manifested in everything from the smallest details to the rapier sharp use of cameos by Mr. T. and others. The lead characters are another strong point. Utterly unique and idiosyncratic, the mad scientist and the brainy meteorologist are whole and real enough to be discussed. This is, I must admit also true of mustache-obsessed Steve (a monkey), Cliff's hirsute, monosyllabic father, the nefarious mayor, and the run-away t.v. I am not generally a fan of the Characters-With-Giant-Eyes-And-Outsized-Heads school of animation on display in "Cloudy," but it's used so well in the film that its serviceable and not a detriment. We didn't see the movie in 3D, so can't speak to that. See it! See it! Laugh yourself silly. Then talk about the other issues the movie trenchantly addresses: greed, gluttony, identity, and monkey thought translators.

pleeoh
parent of 5 and 7 year old
 
My kids love this movie.
Don't expect this to be like the book of the same title, which inspired it. It is full of silly fun, however, and my kids love it. Parents can watch it with kids without boredom. Its a silly fun fast-paced romp, with a positive message about being true to yourself.

Friday
parent of 4 and 7 year old
 
Some kids may be scared or disappointed
My son loves the book, but this movie was so disappointing. His words were "what's up with the people eating chickens and the weird weather machine coming to life and trying to eat it's master?" He didn't like the violence and thought the movie would have been fun without many of the scary, over the top tense scenes.

FireLilly
parent of 6 and 8 year old
 
Good movie, but parent/child relationship drama and action a bit much for less than 7 year olds.
I have a 4 year old and a 7 year old who are fairly well adjusted. We don't typically let them watch all that much TV. The Disney channel is it. The movie has a great story line. A bit of a departure from the book, but none the less a good one. I'd say some of the situations were still a bit adult or at least beyond the comprehensibility of the average 4/7 year old. Luckily most of these elements will go in one ear and out the other. Specifically, it was a bit to violent when it came to the destruction of the town and the child parent relationship drama was a bit beyond what my kids understand. Overall a great movie.

JennyRob
parent of 9 year old
 
Good talking points, aside from the long, scary ending...
Despite negative reviews, my son & I enjoyed CWACOM. The ending sequence was waaay too much suspense for him, but we both enjoyed seeing geeky main characters who learned how to be themselves. Afterward, we talked about mistakes people made & why they made them, plus what people did that helped. Not a bad discussion.

gui
parent of 19 year old
 
fun movie for the whole family whatever age you are !!!

drumminbunnies
kid, 10 years old
 
That was gross. I am vegan, and all there was is meat, and burgers. The only vegan stuff was broccoli, and fruit. And besides, the machine in the sky pumping out the huge brown bag that stretched out until it broke at the bottom, releasing an avalanche of food. It just looked like what you would see if you stuck a camera in the toilet. Face up. I can't believe I ate all those oily french fries beforehand.

MarioMii
teen, 15 years old
 
A strange movie
When I saw this movie with my uncle, he didn't like it because he thinks it's strange with all the food falling from the sky.

TheGreatNoOne
teen, 17 years old
 
The book is WAAAAAYYY better!
Honestly, the weirdest movie I've seen in a while.

carmen gomez
kid, 12 years old
 
I HATE THAT MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EVEN MY LITTLE SISTER WHATS TO THAT MOVIE ALL THE TIME AT FAMILY VIDEO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

scarface24
kid, 12 years old
 
Great movie for all kids 8 and up
This movie is great. It shows a lot of scenes in which Flint learns to be loved for who he truly is, not for what he does or has done for the people of Chew and Swallow. The 3-D destruction scenes may be quite alarming for young kids so I think this movie is good for kids 8 and up.

S Snape
parent of 11 year old
 
ok for anyone who wants to see it
it is the scariest movie i have ever seen because it is so bad its scary. i think it is way too long. if kids are bored by movies that are really long tell them they dont want to see this stupid movie.

h4mommy
parent of and 7 , 9 , 11 , 13 year old
 
The relationship between the main character and his dad gives families something to discuss and hopefully it will better their parent/child communication.

katiemay017
teen, 17 years old
 
AWESOME FOOD MOVIE! 7+
AMAZING!! haha. i like all the food stuff, steve the monkey, and characters. "AVACADOS!!!!" - old man in the movie. this movie made me laugh! you should see it!

LinVA
parent
 
not so great for 6s and below
Really not so great. My 6-year-old liked it, but was really anxious during the final scenes where the weather gets very out-of-control. The person who gets eaten by a chicken was scary, weird, too.

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