September 12, 2009 (Mann Village Theatre)
September 18, 2009 (United States)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a 2009 American computer-animated science fiction comedy film produced by Sony Pictures Animation. Loosely based on the 1978 children's book of the same name by Judi and Ron Barrett, the film was written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (in their feature directorial debuts), and stars the voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Andy Samberg, Bruce Campbell, Mr. T, Benjamin Bratt, and Neil Patrick Harris. The film centers around an aspiring inventor named Flint Lockwood who develops, following a series of failed experiments, a machine that can convert water into food. After the machine gains sentience and begins to develop food storms, Flint must stop it in order to save the world.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs premiered at the Mann Village Theater in Los Angeles, California on September 12, 2009, and was released in the United States six days later on September 18, by Sony Pictures Releasing under its Columbia Pictures label. It earned over $243 million worldwide on a budget of $100 million at the box office. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its colorful visuals, humor, characters, voice acting, and the score, while the simple character designs were said to be unfitting. The film has since been expanded into a franchise, with a sequel, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, released on September 27, 2013, as well as an animated television series based on the film that premiered on Cartoon Network on February 20, 2017, with none of the original cast returning.
The Post Production Sound Services was provided by Sony Pictures Studios. Both Music Dealers and Skywalker Sound also provided post production sound services for the film, but were left uncredited.
Storyline[]
Aspiring scientist Flint Lockwood lives with his widowed father, Tim, and his monkey assistant, Steve, in Swallow Falls, an island in the Atlantic Ocean with an economy based on sardines. As sardines are considered unsavory by the rest of the world, the island's economy declines, forcing its citizens to subsist on a mainly sardine-based diet. One day, Flint develops the Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator, a device that converts water into food, in an effort to expand the town's diet, much to the chagrin of Tim, who, annoyed by Flint's many failed contraptions, wants him to run the family business instead. Flint's first attempt to plug in the device knocks out his house's power, so he connects the FLDSMDFR to a local substation, overloading it and sending it rocketing across town, demolishing Sardine Land, a sardine-themed amusement park meant to revitalize the town, and disappearing into the sky. The chaos earns Flint the fury of the town, of amateur field reporter Sam Sparks, and the disappointment of Tim.
Soon after, cheeseburgers start falling from the sky and Flint realizes the FLDSMDFR is functioning successfully in the stratosphere, using the condensation from clouds to create food-based weather systems while keeping itself afloat. The citizens of Swallow Falls rejoice in their new food choices, renaming it Chewandswallow, and it becomes a "food tourism" destination, making Flint an international celebrity. Flint and Sam grow closer after she reveals that she was teased as a child for her glasses and her fascination with meteorology. However, Flint notices the FLDSMDFR's food has begun to gradually become bigger in size, due to the FLDSMDFR's creations mutating in the atmosphere, having been overloaded by the massive amounts of water vapor. He attempts to warn the town's mayor about the FLDSMDFR's malfunction, though the mayor is too concerned about profit and ignores him.
After a tornado made of spaghetti threatens the town, Flint attempts to shut the FLDSMDFR down, only for the mayor to inadvertently destroy the console while trying to stop him, causing the machine to go rogue and generate a massive storm. Flint creates a USB flash drive designed to shut down the FLDSMDFR and uses his repurposed flying car to reach it, accompanied by Steve, Sam, her cameraman Manny, and the town's former mascot Brent. Upon reaching the FLDSMDFR, they discover it has surrounded itself in a giant meatball-like object made of food for protection. As the group bores inside, the flash drive is lost, prompting Flint to call Tim and instruct him to email the drive's code to his cell phone via his laboratory's computer. On reaching the FLDSMDFR, Flint connects his phone with the flash drive's code sent to it by Tim, only to discover that the wrong file was sent. All appears lost until Flint uses his Spray-On Shoes formula on the machine, causing it to explode and destroy the meatball, ending the storm. After surviving the destruction, Flint reunites with Tim, who finally shows appreciation for his son's inventions, and Sam, with whom he shares a kiss.
Also See[]
- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) (TV Spots)
- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013)
- Earl Scouts (2013)
- Super Manny (2013)
- Steve's First Bath (2014)
- Attack of the 50 Ft. Gummi Bear! (2014)
- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: The Series
Movie Trailer[]
Sound Effects Used[]
Image Gallery[]
Audio Samples[]
SKYWALKER, HUMAN - FEMALE, SCREAM, SHORT as heard in the film.