Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013)

Number Rolled: 79

Movie Name/Year: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013)

Genre: Comedy

Length: 94 minutes

Rating: PG

Affiliated Companies: Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures

Executive Producer: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

Director: Cody Cameron, Kris Pearn

Writer: Erica Rivinoja, John Francis Daley, Jonathan M. Goldstein, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Judi Barrett, Ron Barrett

Actors: Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Will Forte, Andy Samberg, Benjamin Bratt, Neil Patrick Harris, Terry Crews, Kristen Schaal, Cody Cameron, Melissa Sturm, Kris Pearn, Craig Kellman, Khamani Griffin, Bridget Hoffman, Al Roker

Just a couple of hours ago, Flint saved the world! Sure, it was from one of his own inventions, but that’s cheese under the bridge. Now, he’s on top of the world! He’s got plans with his friends to open a company! That’s when his childhood idol comes into the picture and offers him a dream job as an inventor.

The first movie isn’t on Netflix. It’s a shame, but not necessary. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is kind enough to give viewers a recap of what happened in the first movie. Not a bad idea, since there were four years between the first and second one.

I wasn’t necessarily in love with the first film, but I thought it was cute and the plot had some merit. There was a good message for kids in it about dreams and accepting people as they are. Good stuff, honestly. It was definitely weird, but not necessarily in a bad way.

I much prefer the second one. The sneaky jokes geared just toward the adults were appreciated and made me believe that parents would likely be happy to watch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 with their kids. At least the first twelve times. Then the DVD might well get lost or “accidentally” broken. I think that goes for most movies though.

Like the first film, this one had a message for the kidlets. Any version of “don’t judge a book by its cover” or “don’t believe everything you hear” would aptly describe the main lesson, though there was the obvious push to trust one’s friends. Personally, I liked the way they handled the former. It made me think of the plight of pit bulls, a cause that’s very near and dear to my heart.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is a cute and funny movie that does its best to appeal to adults as well as kids. To me, it’s the purest definition of “family film.”

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 70%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 67%

Netflix’s Prediction for Me – 4/5

Trust-the-Dice Score – 4/5

Movie Trailer: