Review of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) by Bryanbezter — 10 May 2020

Great things about the movie:

1. The concept is very interesting, the story is not bad.

2. The animation is very great, the colors and world-building are fantastic.

3. Hilarious jokes and cartoonish characters make it enjoyable.

4. Good performances by Bill Hader as Flint Lockwood, Anna Faris as Sam Sparks, James Caan as Tim Lockwood, Bruce Campbell as Mayor Shelbourne, Andy Samberg as "Baby" Brent McHale, Mr. T as Officer Earl Devereaux, Bobb'e J. Thompson as Calvin 'Cal' Devereaux, and Benjamin Bratt as Manny.

5. Great lessons: acknowledgement, greediness, and responsibility.

Messages from the movie:

1. Everyone needs social life and wants to be part of the society, which means that everyone wants to be acknowledged. Flint wants to be understood and acknowledged by his father, just like his mother did to him, or officer Earl to Cal. He wants to be acknowledged that his inventions make the world a better place, he does not want to be bullied like when he was at school. Baby Brent also feels the same, that when he grows up, he could no longer be the famous and cute baby he was. That is why he was willing to fight the chickens, so that he could contribute to the society. Another example is Sam and her past. She was traumatized after she was bullied as a nerd.

2. Food that the people ask for shows greediness of humans, that we always want more, bigger, and better. The problem is when we try to feed our greediness without considering the consequences. In the movie, the food is abundant and there are so many leftovers. The people keep asking for more food as they like but they never finish what they ask for, in fact they just throw them away. The mayor is a great example of greediness and gluttony, not limited to food, but also wealth and fame. He wants to make the city famous from its tourism and take the city's fame as his own, discrediting the original contributors. He does not think anything else but himself.

3. Once again, with great power comes great responsibility. Flint invents and creates many outstanding machines and tools, but he never considers the consequences and risks, just like the shoes formula, bird-rat hybrid, walking-TV, and his infamous food machine, which cause heavy damage to everyone around the world. He knows that something wrong could take place, that is why he has the danger meter, but he only stops there. We should always consider our actions, especially if it could affect many people.