Delightfully charming, with surprising depth too.

Rating: 8/10 (29 March 2010)

I was not sure what to expect going in to this movie, but found it to be delightfully funny and particularly refreshing, given the current state of non-Pixar animated films. While the plot is fairly simple at first glance, the story of would-be inventor Flint Lockwood and his quest to create a food generating machine contains some surprisingly deep messages and social commentary. His machine eventually goes out of control, raining food of gargantuan proportions down from the heavens onto the tiny Atlantic island nation of Swallow Falls and even the rest of the world. Meanwhile, weathergirl Sam Sparks is sent to Swallow Falls to investigate the culinary curiosity, and Lockwood must eventually find a way from saving the world from certain doom at the hands of his seemingly magical creation. The voice acting is top notch, and includes some outstanding work by talented individuals such as James Caan, Bruce Campbell, and even Mr. T himself. The movie does not take itself too seriously, but also takes care not to fall into the trap of pop-culture parody or crude scatological humor. An excellent movie all around.