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The characters are what make these films work for me. They appeal to my sense of humour. They really do strike the perfect balance between emotion and the ludicrous in a way that works for me. That said, I only went to see this film thanks to the good feelings engendered by its predecessor, and I wouldn't say that it was in the same league. It was great at the time, because it had been a while since I'd seen the one before it. But re-watching the original film confirmed to me my preference for it over this sequel.
Mainly, I think I find the villain in Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 a bit of a... hassle. I think that's the best word for it. Rather than providing impetus for the plot, I feel like he gets in the way of it. And that goes twofold for his orangutan sidekick. The first film only needed the villain to be a vague idea in the background; the entertainment came from watching the characters reacting and dealing with consequences. The villain in this film tried to steal the show from the main characters too much for my liking, making this film the lesser film. But what do I know? The Bassist says he prefers this one to the original (though he did see this one first).
Final Thought: "There's a leek in the boat" makes me laugh every. single. time.
Up Next: Clueless (1995)
This film was a real surprise to me in how good it was. From the title, it seemed like such a stupid film. And it is, but in a wonderful way.
I love animation, so there's a lot of animated films that I'll watch as a gamble, and this was one of them. I fell in love from it right from the start, at the moment they introduced of spray on shoes. And I kept loving it, because there's so many delightful little side moments in this film. You have to keep watching so you don't miss something. Not to mention the fact that Steve is one of the greatest sidekicks ever.
Even though this film is a ludicrous idea, it's tempered by Flint's dad, who they've made such a touching character - hairy and gruff but well meaning. And they deftly set the poignancy of this relationship early in the film and thereby give some sort of vague purpose to why Flint behaves as he does.
I think this film works for me because it embraces what it is and then takes it just a little bit further. It leaves me teary (because I'm a sap, apparently) and jubilant (because Yay Animation!), which is just great.
Final Thought: What's distressing is that Baby Brent reminds me of someone I know, and I can't figure out who...
Up Next: Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 (2013)
