A fun animated movie but I doubt it will be remembered

Rating: 7/10 (5 December 2012)

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs was a book I owned when I was younger, and those of you who are older adults probably recognize it as well. The book was a simple picture book and trying to get a movie out of seemed... well... hard. But somehow the makers of this movie figured it out. They actually created an entire movie out of a simple picture book... though that's not to say that there weren't some dramatic changes.
The only thing that is the same between the book and the movie is the premise. It rains food. That's it. The atmosphere of the movie is very quirky and light-hearted. It doesn't take itself seriously at all which was a smart decision. From the very beginning the movie purposely establishes how absurd the movie is going to be. The jokes are relatively good though keep in mind this movie is aimed more towards kids and there aren't any hidden jokes or anything to keep older audiences really amused.
The animation is very bright and flashy and is pretty good. It's not going to be remember for outstanding animation but that's only a minor detail. The downside with the movie is that it feels more like a giant joke in itself. Since the movie isn't taking itself seriously that means it isn't being serious about telling a story that is bigger than joke. The final action sequence is visual gag after visual gag and pretty much is just a set up for jokes. It's funny but it makes the movie feel more like a roller coaster of jokes and excitement instead of being anything more than just "entertainment".
To sum it up, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs is an entertaining movie and children will probably find the characters funny (particularly the talking monkey) however the movie isn't really memorable and doesn't stand out as a big achievement in film making. It's just a good movie.