Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (1&2)

Original Movie, 2009, PG; Sequel Movie, 2013, PG

Premise - Aspiring inventor Flint Lockwood creates a machine that can convert water into food. When it accidentally gets shot up in the stratosphere, the water from the clouds gets converted into food that rains down on the island town of Swallow Falls.

Review - The original is one of my favorite films of all time. I gives me the most amazing nostalgia for junior high. It's just one of those creative genius animated films that gets my imagination spinning so hard that I just can't stop smiling. It has a similar creative spark to the cartoon series "Phineas and Ferb", which is another one of my all-time favorites and happens to be from this same era. It's a weird sense of humor, I know. But whatever it is, it very much lined up with my sense of humor in junior high and that carries through the rest of my life. (**EDIT 2020: In hindsight, I realize that it must be these directors/creators that I vibe well with, because they also did The Lego Movie, and produced Spiderman Into the Spiderverse.)

I took so much inspiration from this film. I used to shout "SNOWBALL!" when having a snowball fight, redundantly say exactly what I was doing as I was doing it (TYPING! PROOFREADING! PUBLISHING!), and type with aggressively floppy hands. This film just meant the absolute world to me, and seeing the sequel in theaters my senior year of high school was one of the most fulfilling moments of that year. I have no more words, it's just so great.

The original I have seen countless times and can obviously quote offhand. The sequel I can still quote a little bit, though I have only seen it twice. I love it for the nostalgia factor for the characters, and I think it has a fascinating exploration for... weirdly... empathy to food?? (Which is a whole other philosophical debate because much of our food, at one time, were living animals...). I do not hold it as close to my heart as the original but it holds up as a sequel. (96/100)

Quote - "Flint LockWOOOOOOD"

What to watch for - The Ratbirds. And Steve.

If you liked this movie, I'd recommend Phineas and Ferb!

Directors: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
Distribution Company: Columbia Pictures (Sony Pictures Releasing)