FINALLY! A masterpiece that shows Sony Pictures Animation's true identity!

Rating: 10/10 (2 May 2010)

Since 2006, Sony Pictures Animation had been trying to rank with Pixar and Dreamworks, particularly in storytelling. Its first film, "Open Season", wasn't well-received, mostly because it's a ripoff of "Madagascar". In 2007, on the other hand, Sony released "Surf Up" as the first documentary film in animated feature. That showed the studio's true potential in storytelling. But above all, it's "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs", the first animated disaster film, that shined Sony's true identity the most.
Not only CWACOM has the spirit of the original children's authors, it has managed to stay away from the storytelling styles of Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks, too. The film-making team did an excellent job on replicating stylized animation in CGI (check out the mouth shapes of Flint Lockwood, for instance). Most importantly, its humor is sophisticated and its heart can be apparent (such as Flint Lockwood longing for Tim Lockwood's love).
Now that CWACOM has ranked among the best animated features of 2009 (The Princess and the Frog, Up, Coraline), Sony Pictures Animation should keep up the good work, mostly in its own storytelling style and even its experimentation on stylized animation and genres (such as reality TV show).