Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs Parent Guide
The forecast for this family film is sunny with a chance of laughs.
Parent Movie Review
You’ll never look at lunch or the weather forecast the same way after watching Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. Personally, the idea of meals just blowing in and raining down appears to be a good one. No stewing over what to make for dinner and no more lengthy trips to the grocery store. However, the best laid plans don’t always pan out.
Flint Lockwood’s (voice by Bill Hader) intentions are good. He’s always been the nerd, the weirdo, the freak with a head full of big ideas. But nothing has ever turned out to be as successful in reality as it looked on paper. Now the small town where Flint lives with his father Tim (voice by James Caan) is in serious trouble. The sardine factory has closed and the citizens on the tiny island are the only ones left to eat the salty seafood. Unfortunately a steady diet of sardines is becoming pretty unappetizing.
Squirreled away in his lab, Flint comes up with a tasty solution to their dilemma. He creates a food-making machine that will turn simple water molecules into yummy entrees. Unfortunately a power surge sends the machine hurtling into the stratosphere. Instead of serving dinner from the safety of his lab, the scrumptious meals begin falling from the sky.
The enterprising mayor (voice by Bruce Campbell) of Swallow Falls sees this new weather phenomenon as a way to rejuvenate business in the faltering town. He, without any input from the rest of the citizens, creates a food-based amusement park and begins promoting it to tourists around the world. But as the demands increase on the food processor, the gentle mealtime showers develop into severe storm patterns. With reporter Sam Sparks (voice by Anna Faris) broadcasting on location, the world watches as the town of Swallow Falls is caught up in the center of some nasty squalls.
This film’s delectable script, a cast of delicious characters and a hearty dash of topical jokes for the adults in the audience make this film entertaining for almost everyone. Very young viewers, however, may be frightened by some moments of peril, especially when a grown-up ‘Baby’ Brent (voice by Andy Samberg) is chased and eaten by a headless roasted turkey. Another man is electrocuted after sneaking into a power sub station. He also has to deal with constant bullying from his peers.
Still these characters discover that everyone has something to offer, particularly when they stay true to who they are. And while too much of any good thing can be bad, the forecast for this family film is sunny with a chance of laughs.
Starring Anna Faris, Bill Hader, and Bruce Campbell. Running time: 90 minutes. Theatrical release September 18, 2009. Updated March 23, 2020About author
Watch the trailer for Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Rating & Content Info
Why is Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs rated PG? Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is rated PG by the MPAA for brief mild language.
From the time he is a child, Flint is bullied and teased by his peers in school and even adults on the street. He also deals with his father’s disappointment. After one science experiment goes wrong, Flint is seen hitting his feet, trying to cut something off of them and banging them against the floor. One character is electrocuted in a power substation. An accident causes the total destruction of an amusement park. A man runs with scissors in his hand. An animal appears to be eating excrement. A character throws snowballs at others. A father and son have a disagreement. Characters experience severe weather including tornados. A dam threatens to break and flood the people who live below it. Characters are chased by a flock of headless, roasted turkeys. One man is eaten by one of the turkeys. A girl suffers from the effects of anaphylactic shock after being exposed to peanuts. Characters lie to one another. They also experience moments of peril, including being attacked by giant gummy bears. The script contains some name-calling and brief mild language.
Page last updated March 23, 2020
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs Parents' Guide
While scientists still haven’t discovered how to make food from water molecules, they are working at creating more genetically modified foods. How can this improve food production? How do you feel about this type of intervention?
Flint and his father are on opposing ends of the technology scale. How does that impact their relationship? What technology gaps do you experience with your parents or children?
One of the characters pretends to be less intelligent than she is in order to have people like her. Why do people, especially women, often feel like they have to play dumb to be socially accepted?
Loved this movie? Try these books…
This movie is based on Judy and Ronald Barrett’s classic kid’s book, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.
Tomie DePaola’s classic “Strega Nona” tells the story of a magical pot that produces so much pasta that the town is soon at risk from the volume of food.
In “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day”, by Judith Viorst, Alexander comes to realize that sometimes, things just don’t go your way.
“If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”, Laura Numeroff explains to children both the dangers of greed, as well as some interesting commentary on appeasement strategies.
Home Video
The most recent home video release of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs movie is January 5, 2010. Here are some details…
Related home video titles:
If you can’t get enough of weather-pattern meals, watch the movie at home along with its sequel Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2.
Food also plays a starring role in the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where a young boy finds a golden ticket that allows him access into a magical candy-making plant. In Flubber, a teacher at a small town university discovers a new substance known as flubber. Another young inventor with great ambitions is introduced in Meet The Robinsons.
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