ANIMATION; 1hr 30min
VOICES BY: Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Andy Samberg, Bruce Campbell, Mr T, Benjamin Bratt, Neil Patrick Harris
Menu update: Sam and Flint
Rubbery wonk Flint Lockwood (voiced by Hader) is invention-mad in this quick-witted, candy-coloured reworking by writer-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller of Judi and Ron Barrett’s 1978 children’s book. Even though his childhood creations — the spray-on shoes, the walking TV, the ratbirds — were a resounding flop, for 10 years Flint has been on fire with crackpot plans. He’s a lone voice until he comes up with a contraption that turns water into food and, hey presto, burgers are falling from the skies. With everyone up to their elbows in trippy nibbles (the jello castle is commercial art), Flint is a hero and Sam the rookie TV weather girl (Faris) is sold.
It would have been a fairy-tale end if human beings knew when to quit — which they don’t, ordering jumbo portions of everything until Flint’s foodie machine goes cuckoo and his daggy home town is hit by a spaghetti twister from Disaster Movie 101. Does Flint have a meatball’s chance in hell of stopping a global foodstorm? You bet your flying ratbirds he does!
