Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The war for your wallet may be shifting from DVD stores to your living room. Just yesterday, our own Jessica Barnes described the price war between Walmart, Target and Amazon as the three retailers have temporarily slashed their profits and passed the savings on to you. Now comes word that Sony will pre-empt retailers by making their animated hit Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs available exclusively to owners of selected Sony television sets and networked Blu-ray players more than a month before it's released on DVD. Sony, however, expects you to slash your savings and pass the profits on to them, charging $24.95 for a rental.

That's a big chunk of change for a pay-per-view movie, dramatically higher than cable and satellite systems charge for pay-per-view flicks in their window of availability before DVD and Blu-ray release. Details from a business standpoint are provided in The New York Times -- the higher price is meant to avoid angering Walmart, the largest and thus most powerful DVD retailer in the country, and the move is part of Sony's strategy to leverage its ownership of both hardware (TVs, Blu-ray players) and software (movies, television) production. I'm sure Sony shareholders will be pleased.

What about the consumer? In his Home Theater blog for ZDNET, Sean Portnoy wonders: "In this economy, is being able to rent this successful movie a few weeks ahead of the masses really worth an extra $20? In fact, if you're using Netflix or renting at $1 per night through Redbox, the pricing difference is even starker." Sony tried this last year with Will Smith and Hancock, but economic times are even more difficult now. Will you pay $25 for Meatballs?

Since its earliest days of development, the value of most computer animation was judged by how accurately it represented or substituted for reality: are skin tones believable, are textures authentic, is motion natural or smooth? But at least as far as animated movies are concerned, many (including lots of audience members) have forgotten that many of the medium's best examples were ones where abstraction and exaggeration were a big part (if not the biggest) of their artistry; notwithstanding feature-length classics like Snow White or Dumbo, filmmakers like Chuck Jones and Tex Avery entertained audiences by expanding their imaginations with punch lines, characters and even worlds that were anything but realistic.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is the most cartoonish animated film I've seen in a long time, and I mean that as a compliment. Taking inspiration from Looney Tunes classics, Buster Keaton, and Jerry Bruckheimer movies in equal measures, co-directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller have adapted Ron and Judi Barrett's kids book into a true larger-than-life tale, creating a world that scarcely resembles anything that could or would happen, and manages to be all the more exciting because of it.

For the fifth time Tyler Perry scored a number one opener which was followed by the animated science fiction flick 9 in second place. Last week's other new releases, Sorority Row and Whiteout, missed the top five, landing in sixth and seventh place respectively. Here's the top five:

1. Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself: $23.4 million
2. 9: $10.7 million
3. Inglourious Basterds: $6.1 million
4. All About Steve: $5.6 million
5. The Final Destination: $5.5 million

Another four new releases this week:

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
What's It All About: In this animated feature a young inventor builds a machine that causes food to rain from the sky.
Why It Might Do Well: It's based on a beloved kid's book and presented in 3D. The presence of Bruce Campbell in the voice cast is icing on the cake.
Why It Might Not Do Well: People with food allergies may be leery of this one.
Number of Theaters: 3,000
Prediction: $32 million

The Informant
What's It All About: A corporate whistle-blower thinks his cooperation with the FBI will make him a hero to the people, but it only serves to expose his own impropriety.
Why It Might Do Well: Steven Soderbergh, the director of Oceans 11 -13 is behind the camera, with Matt Damon adding star power in front of it. Also, Rottentomatoes.com gives it a 75% Fresh rating.
Why It Might Not Do Well: The mustache and glasses give Damon a kind of creepy uncle look.
Number of Theaters: 2,400
Prediction: $15 million

Carriers
A decent looking tale of an apocalyptic plague and four friends attempt to survive it. If you've read The Stand or seen the mini-series based on it the idea seems kind of similar. Chris Prine, the new James T. Kirk stars and I thought the faces drawn on the surgical masks were a nice touch. Things start getting germy on September 4.

Couples Retreat
Four couples head to a tropical resort where they learn that couples' therapy is a mandatory part of the program. The impressive cast includes Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Malin Akerman, Kristin Davis, and Kristen Bell. The retreat commences on October 9.

Planet 51
There's a new full length trailer for this animated comedy about a human astronaut landing on an alien world that looks strikingly like an American suburb. The residents of the planet see the visitor as a threat and it looks like there's probably a decent message for kids about prejudice, but this one doesn't thrill me. The idea is cute and they get points for the use of The Killers' song "Spaceman" but it didn't have me laughing. Planet 51 touches down on November 20.

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
Man, I love that title. I haven't read the kids' book that this is based on but the trailer has tons of charm. Flint Lockwood has always dreamed of being an inventor and now it looks like his latest contraption will solve world hunger as he's got food literally falling from the sky. Not just the titular meatballs, but spaghetti, cheeseburgers and a house made of jello that I thought was particularly cool. The storm clouds start gathering on September 18.

The Cake Eaters
This film concerns the interactions between two families in a small town in upstate New York. The trailer focuses on a budding romance between a guy who works in the school cafeteria and a girl with degenerative neurological disorder, but judging from Erik's review of the film the story covers a lot more. Looks like a worthwhile little drama. It's bypassing theatrical release and arriving on DVD on March 24.

Crank 2
The movie's U.K. site has added a new red band trailer for this action sequel and there's so much packed into the thing I have to wonder if there's anything left for the movie. Jason Statham's heart has been stolen, and I don't mean in a romantic way. The artificial heart he has been left with requires periodic jolts of electricity and, well, it gets a little wacky from there. This will be in U.S. theaters on April 17.

The trailer for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is finally here, and I can bet you one thing: it's not the story or look you remember. As Anna Faris said back in 2008, it's only "very, very loosely" based on the book, filtered through the ever-present CG, rather than any sort of nod to the '80s look of the book.

For kids, I'm sure this will be a blast. The visuals look pastel-pretty, and there's an over-abundance of silly stuff for the kidlets to giggle at -- wacky scientists zooming around, cheeseburgers falling from the sky, and even a gigantic pancake with butter and syrup swallowing the school. But the adults -- I think this is something they'll simply stomach for their offspring.

But watching this also makes me wonder how long until CG houses take a cue from Disney and merge art with the graphics -- a Sleeping Beauty for the computer age. The film looks great, for CG, but all of these flicks are starting to look the same, free of those flairs from hand-drawn animation, and the art that often went into backdrops and scenery. Perhaps one day...

Sony Pictures has provided Cinematical with a brief look at some of their 2009 films, including Julia & Julia, The Stepfather remake, Armored, Obsessed, Max's Mardi Gras, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs and Angels & Demons. Some of these images have been released already, but most haven't. Check out the galleries below with descriptions of each film.



The film follows the legendary chef Julia Childs, as well as a government employee who attempts to plow her way through the chef's classic cookbook (starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina and Linda Emond) Release: August 7, 2009



Inspired by the beloved children's book, the film focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain (starring Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Bruce Campbell, Andy Samberg, Mr. T and Tracy Morgan). Release: September 18, 2009



The team behind the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code returns for the highly anticipated Angels & Demons, based upon the bestselling novel by Dan Brown. Tom Hanks reprises his role as Harvard religious expert Robert Langdon, who once again finds that forces with ancient roots are willing to stop at nothing, even murder, to advance their goals. Release: May 15, 2009

Earlier today Cinematical managed to grab the adorable and hysterical Anna Faris for a nice, quiet comfy-couch chat about what it's like appearing on the cover of Playboy Magazine, her new movie The House Bunny and a ton of other randomness (look for our interview later this week). While speaking with Anna about her upcoming projects, she did tell us a little bit more about the voice work she's doing for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, based on the popular book by Judi and Rob Barrett. The film follows "a scientist who tries to solve world hunger only to see things go awry as food falls from the sky in abundance."

For Faris this is her first animated movie, and she'll be playing a weather girl who's kind of a tweaked version of her (they've filmed her movements and all that jazz). While speaking to her about it, Faris also revealed that aside from co-star Andy Samberg, Bill Hader and Mr. T will have roles in the flick. No word on who or what they'll be playing, though this marks Mr. T's first feature role since Not Another Teen Movie back in 2001. Ahem, I smell comeback ...

Faris said she's still doing a little work on the film, though most of her stuff is done. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is due in theaters on January 15, 2010. Stay tuned for our interview with my favorite bunny later this week ...

As anyone who went to see Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D last weekend knows, a viable, attractive, non-headache-inducing 3-D technology now exists for feature-length films in regular theaters (albeit ones outfitted with a special projector). Unfortunately, it's still not being used as a storytelling tool so much as an attempt to impress people -- look, it's Brendan Fraser, spitting water in your face! -- but maybe James Cameron will fix that soon, what with his plans to film a low-key drama in 3-D after he finishes Avatar. In any case, now that Journey has proven the mettle of the format (the 800-some theaters showing it in 3-D made up for more than half of the film's opening weekend gross, and rightfully so), you should probably expect to wear goofy plastic glasses with increasing frequency.

Case in point: Sony's announcement yesterday that its previously-announced adaptation of the children's book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs will be the first digital 3-D release for Sony Pictures Animation. The movie (which I believe still has Anna Faris and Andy Samberg doing the lead voices) is about a scientist who tries a radical approach to solving world hunger only to wind up with food coming down from the sky, which doesn't turn out to be as awesome as it sounds. A Sony exec provides an amazing quote to go along with the announcement: "The story is about 'food weather,' and so food falling from the sky lends itself so well to 3-D." No kidding.

I anxiously await the day when 3-D is used to tell better, more engaging stories rather than to provide the equivalent of a novelty theme park ride. Maybe soon.

It's been a while since Sony picked up the rights to Judi and Rob Barrett's 1982 book called Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs back in 2006. Now, in a conversation with MTV, Anna Faris has revealed that she and Andy Samberg are doing the lead voices in the film (perfect!), along with a bunch of undisclosed comedians. Faris will play a weather girl, and she says that the character will look like a tweaked version of her. Man, imagine those little weather maps in a sea of burgers, ice cream, and more, rather than clouds and lightning bolts.

As Erik described when the book got picked up, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs stems from "a scientist who tries to solve world hunger only to see things go awry as food falls from the sky in abundance." Instead of raining men like The Weather Girls sing, this town gets a meteorological wonderland of snowy mashed potatoes, juice rain, and more.

However, Faris says the film is only "very, very loosely -- based on the book. But it's a small town that rains food, basically. So hamburgers come down, and ice cream, and [the residents] have to figure out a way [to stop it]. Eventually, it gets more and more dangerous, and they have to figure out a way to stop the satellite machine that's raining food."

Now I'm hungry.