CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 3D review: fishing metaphors ahoy

I’d heard some time ago that Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs is one of the better-reviewed films of the year, but I was still reluctant to sit down and actually watch the thing–seeing as it seems aimed mostly at children and it plays in 3D and all–but I’m happy to report I was pleasantly surprised. Not only does Meatballs catch lots of fish in its wide-reaching net, it manages not to sink under the weight of them all.

At its core, Meatballs is about the relationship between genius-inventor-yet-to-be-taken-seriously-by-anyone-but-his-mum Flint Lockwood and his laconic, sardine-fisherman-who-speaks-in-fishing-metaphors father. Technophobe dad never really took to Flint’s inventions, and seeing as inventing stuff is all Flint ever does, there’s some understandable tension between the two. But the movie’s also about geeky Flint’s cute relationship with closet-geek weather girl Sam Sparks, coming complete with the worn “be yourself forever and never change” moral so rife in kids’ movies. And it’s also about Flint’s relationship with his isolated, sardine-fishing hometown of Swallow Falls–how Flint deals with power and responsibility in the face of public adoration and his father’s disapproval. There’s even a whiff of satire–the convenience of having food rain regularly down from the sky leads to rampant obesity in one character, which is funny, but also tells kids that “availability of food + average human self control = obesity epidemic.”

So we have enough major threads to fill a plate of spaghetti, or three or four kids’ movies at least, but instead we are lucky enough to get them all rolled neatly (with sauce) into one ball–and I haven’t even mentioned any of the hilarious side-characters, such as: Mr T’s abrasive but loving police officer (complete with inverse mohawk–do kids get these jokes?); Manny, Sam’s stoic but hilariously adept cameraman; or Steve, Flint’s one and only friend (a monkey to whom Flint has attached a Monkey Thoughts Translator device). Every character in the script is given a smooth, amusing arc to follow through the course of the film, and having such a lively and colourful cast of characters helps pull you deeper into the movie.

The script itself serves as a showcase of the traditional three-act structure. A lot of amusing minor details are casually introduced in the first act, and most (if not all) of these little character quirks or flashback scenes have some big pay-off in the third. It’s simplified so that kids can get it, but fret not, adults can enjoy it too. Having your attention acknowledged and rewarded so efficiently and amusingly is immensely satisfying, and helps you ignore any minor quibbles you may have with the film.

Like a lot of animated movies these days, Meatballs’ presentation is extremely slick and polished, almost to the point of being glib. The art style is bright, colourful and retro, offering a kaleidoscopic treat for the eyes, while the music oscillates between modern bombast and 80s sci-fi electronica to charming effect; the voice acting (featuring talent like Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan,  Andy Samberg, Neil Patrick Harris (!), Bruce Campbell (!!),and Mr T (!!!)) is consistent and high-energy, without becoming chirpy and annoying. But most importantly, they nail the jokes.

What would a family film be without a few good jokes? Pretty bad, I guess. Thankfully the jokes in Meatballs are not only not pretty bad, they’re not any kind of bad at all. The humour is fresh, unique, and most importantly, genuinely funny. It’s what holds the film together (along with the tight script) and allows us to follow these oddball characters on their journey and, like I said above, if you follow the jokes attentively, you’ll get some major pay-offs in the end. We even get a few nods to the disaster movie clichés of yore–scientists with meteorology equipment, government denial, corporate greed, and the destruction of landmarks worldwide.

The presentation of the third dimension in Meatballs is, for lack of a better word, perfect: there are no in-your-face moments, and the foreground/midground/background are framed just right between shots that you don’t get disoriented when a cut occurs. The 3D exists purely to immerse the viewer, and it succeeds brilliantly: reflections look amazing, faces look clean and cute, and when the food starts a-rainin’, the mouth starts a-waterin’. We understand why the mayor gets fatter every time we see him–the food looks delicious. The only caveat with seeing it in 3D is that the projection tech still isn’t quite up to scratch–it’s all a bit dark and there’s a bit of that banding I was complaining about before, but when these problems noticeably occur they are mercifully brief and don’t break the immersion.

You could deride Meatballs’ safe, family-friendly approach, but then someone’s gotta entertain the kiddies, and I’d rather future filmmakers be weaned on this than committee-designed money-whores like Alvin And The Chipmunks and The Tooth Fairy. Fresh, funny, moving, busy, slick and satisfying, if a little safe and shallow: this is perfect popcorn fodder for families with kids between 5 and 12. Be sure to, er, sea this one before it, er, gets away. Sorry.

84/100