Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is a 2013 American computer-animated comic science fiction film produced by Sony Pictures Animation and distributed by Columbia Pictures.
Trailer
The film is the sequel to the 2009 film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which was loosely based on Judi and Ron Barrett's book of the same name. It was directed by Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn, produced by Kirk Bodyfelt, and executive produced by the directors of the first film, Phil Lord and Chris Miller. The film was released on September 27, 2013.
The screenplay was written by John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, and Erica Rivinoja, and it is based on an original idea, and not on Pickles to Pittsburgh, Barrett's follow-up book. Cloudy 2 continues right after the first film, where a food-making machine gets out of control, but its creator, young inventor Flint, and his friends, eventually manage to stop it. In the sequel, Flint and his friends are forced to leave their home town, but when the food machine awakens, this time producing sentient food beasts, they must return to save the world.
Most of the main cast reprised their roles: Bill Hader as Flint Lockwood, Anna Faris as Sam Sparks, James Caan as Tim Lockwood, Andy Samberg as Brent McHale, Neil Patrick Harris as Steve, and Benjamin Bratt as Manny. New cast includes Terry Crews, who replaced Mr. T as Officer Earl; Will Forte, who voiced Joseph Towne in the first film, voices Chester V and Kristen Schaal as orangutan Barb.
Plot
After Flint Lockwood and his friends save the world from the food storm, super-inventor Chester V, the CEO of Live Corp, is tasked to clean the island. He relocates Flint, his friends, and the citizens of Swallow Falls to San Franjose, California. Unbeknownst to Flint, the FLDSMDFR survived the explosion and landed in the center of the island, and Chester is determined to find it. Chester invites Flint, his biggest fan, to work at Live Corp, where he meets Chester's assistant Barb, a talking orangutan with human intelligence. Six months later, Flint humiliates himself during a promotion ceremony when his invention "Party-In-A-Box" explodes. Meanwhile, Chester is informed that his search-parties on the island have been attacked by monstrous cheeseburgers which are learning how to swim. Fearing the world's inevitable doom, Chester tasks Flint to find the FLDSMDFR and destroy it once and for all.
Cast
- Bill Hader as Flint Lockwood, an inventor.
- Bridget Hoffman as Young Flint Lockwood. She replaces Max Neuwirth for the role.
- Anna Faris as Samantha "Sam" Sparks, a weather intern from New York City and Flint's girlfriend.
- James Caan as Tim Lockwood, Flint's widowed father.
- Will Forte as Chester V, a world-famous super-inventor and the head of the Live Corp.
- Andy Samberg as Brent McHale, an infamous/former celebrity mascot of Baby Brent's Sardines, now known as Chicken Brent.
- Neil Patrick Harris as Steve the Monkey
- Benjamin Bratt as Manny, Sam's Guatemalan cameraman and a former doctor, co-pilot, and comedian.
- Terry Crews as Officer Earl Devereaux, the town's athletic cop. Crews replaced Mr. T for the role.
- Kristen Schaal as Barb, Chester V's talking and lipstick-wearing orangutan with a human brain.
- Khamani Griffin as Cal Devereaux, Earl's son. Griffin replaced Bobb'e J. Thompson for the role.
- Al Roker as Patrick Patrickson, the anchorman of the weather station.
- Cody Cameron as Barry the Strawberry, Dill Pickles
- Melissa Sturm as Sentinel Louise, Live Corp Scientist
- Kris Pearn as Shrimpanzees, Sentinel Peter, Labcoat Jenny
- Craig Kellman as Fintly McCallahan, Idea Pants Guy
Production
The first news of the sequel came out in April 2010, when website io9 reported that the original directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, won't return for the sequel. In December 2011, it was reported that Cody Cameron, the story artist on the first film, and Kris Pearn, the head of story on the first, would direct the sequel, with Lord and Miller serving as exec-producers. John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein and Erica Rivinoja wrote the screenplay, which is based on an original idea, and not on Pickles to Pittsburgh, Barrett's follow-up book. In February 2012, it was announced that the sequel would be titled Cloudy 2: Revenge of the Leftovers, but was later retitled Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. The film was originally scheduled for release on December 20, 2013, then pushed to February 7, 2014, before moving up to September 27, 2013.
Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Andy Samberg, Neil Patrick Harris and Benjamin Bratt reprised their roles. The role of Earl, the town cop, was taken over by Terry Crews, as Mr. T declined to return. Kristen Schaal joined the cast to voice Barb, a talking and lipstick wearing orangutan with a human brain. Will Forte, who voiced Joseph Towne in the first film, voices Chester V, a world-famous super-inventor, who commands Barb, and is the head of the Live Corp Company. On January 17, 2013, concept art from the film was released.
The music was composed by Mark Mothersbaugh. Cody Simpson provided a single "La Da Dee", which was played at the film's end credits. Simpson also performed in a music video that incorporated footage from the film. Paul McCartney's single, "New", from his 2013 album, was featured in the film.
Reception
Critical response
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 received generally positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 70% approval rating with an average rating of 6.4/10 based on 106 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "While not as clever or inventive as its predecessor, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 compensates with enough dazzling visuals to keep younger viewers entertained." Another review aggregation website Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 59 out of 100 based on 25 reviews.
Box office
As of October 27, 2013, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 has grossed $100,611,000 in North America, and $49,200,000 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $149,811,000. In North America, the film earned $9.3 million on its opening day, and opened to #1 in its first weekend, with $34,017,930. In its second weekend, the film dropped to #2 grossing an additional $20,950,192.