Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 – review

The follow-up to the suprise animated hit of 2009 continues in an equally surreal way – but it's an acquired taste

The bizarre animated hit from 2009 in which food rained from the sky as the edible apocalypse approached played out like the kind of kids' movie David Lynch would have made had he not been so busy fooling around with the animated segments of Eraserhead.

While this follow-up may lack the "WTF?!" head-scramble of its predecessor, it still gets a surprising amount of mileage out of the invention of "foodimals" – food/animal hybrids that roam the hallucinogenic landscape like the inhabitants of a snack-based Jurassic Park. Never smile at a Taco-dile! Don't step on that Apple Pie-thon! Keep out of the way of the Hippotato! If you don't find those puns funny, then there's nothing for you here – certainly not in terms of coherent narrative. But for anyone wishing to tickle the tummy-buns of a Double Bacon Cheespider, there's a menagerie of colourful mutants to distract your attention from the absence of anything more substantial.

Contributor

Mark Kermode

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 – review

A sentient strawberry could be the breakout star of this passable sequel to the 2009 animation, writes Mike McCahill

Mike McCahill

24, Oct, 2013 @9:20 PM

Article image
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 rolls to the top spot

Charles Gant: Captain Phillips is still afloat, but it's kids of all ages who are calling the UK box-office shots this week

Charles Gant

30, Oct, 2013 @8:57 AM

Article image
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2: animation sequel chews up its rivals

Five things we learned about the US box office this weekend, including why franchises rule and the Spanish-language film that knocked Pan's Labyrinth off its perch, writes Jeremy Kay

Jeremy Kay

30, Sep, 2013 @4:05 PM

Article image
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2: watch the trailer - video

Watch the trailer for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, in which inventor Flint Lockwood discovers his famous machine food-from-water machine has created super food/animal hybrids

10, Oct, 2013 @10:51 AM

Article image
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 3D | Film review

A Hollywood-animated movie about fast food falling from the sky does not impress Philip French

Philip French

19, Sep, 2009 @11:01 PM

Article image
You review: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs | Ben Child

Ben Child: Is this a fun-filled visual feast that the whole family can dine on, or a bland by-the-numbers parent trap that leaves a bad taste in the mouth?

Ben Child

22, Sep, 2009 @10:52 AM

Article image
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs | Film review

A veritable buffet of the bland and the bizarre, the sweet and the sour, and all tastes are catered for along the way, says Xan Brooks

Xan Brooks

17, Sep, 2009 @11:01 PM

Article image
Turbo – review

A speed-obsessed snail hits the racetrack in DreamWorks' nonsensical digimation, writes Mark Kermode

Mark Kermode

19, Oct, 2013 @11:02 PM

Article image
Hop – review

Russell Brand voices a rabbit who wants to be a rock drummer in this saccharine adventure, writes Philip French

Philip French

02, Apr, 2011 @11:09 PM

Article image
ParaNorman – review

This stop-motion outing is scarier than the same team's Coraline – and it'll make your kids feel sorry for zombies, writes Philip French

Philip French

15, Sep, 2012 @11:02 PM