phil lord Tagged Articles at Cinematical

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.

As someone who really likes to eat, I've often wondered how crazy life would be if food all of a sudden started falling from the sky. That's right, I think about this kind of thing. Usually when I eat. Because I really like food. Did I mention that already?

After reading that Sony Pictures Animation just acquired the film rights to a children's book called Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, I immediately wanted to run out and purchase said book. Set in a world where it rains juice (Yum!) and snows mashed potatoes (Double yum!), the book was illustrated by Judi Barrett and Ron Barrett. The movie's plot is said to surround "a scientist who tries to solve world hunger only to see things go awry as food falls from the sky in abundance."

Meatballs marks the studio's fourth animated pic to go into development, with its first (Open Season) set to hit theaters next month. As of right now, the film will be directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller.