Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

LA Weekly Ernest Hardy

Cloudy is smart, insightful on a host of relationship dynamics, and filled with fast-paced action.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Very likely the most fun your family will have this month.

Washington Post Dan Kois

Any moviegoers possessed of funny bones will laugh their fool heads off at Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

Film Threat Matthew Sorrento

Wise and respectful of its audience, "Cloudy" thus never stops the fun.

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

The sights are ingenious, impressively rendered in 3-D, and the sounds – including cheeky voice work by Mr. T, Neil Patrick Harris, and Benjamin Bratt – are a blast.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Charles Williams

The film combines a pinch of morality with a healthy dose of humor to produce a movie that's entertaining for everyone.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

A joyful romp, devoid of the tiresome pop-culture references.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

It’s a brisk, bright, winning effort, even though it already looks sadly out of touch with the times.

NPR Bob Mondello

Ends with a big action sequence, turning into Raiders of the Lost Arby's when you wish it would serve up something less conventional. But by that time, the filmmakers have also served up a little food for thought, along with a lot of laughs.

USA Today Claudia Puig

A surprisingly savory treat, though it doesn't bear much resemblance to the charming classic children's book on which it's based.

New Orleans Times-Picayune Mike Scott

It's all good, goofy fun.

Los Angeles Times Glenn Whipp

The movie's humor targets both kids and grown-ups with equal success, but, even with the presence of a mustache-fixated monkey, the main attraction here is the movie's vibrant 3-D animation and its perfect storm of foodie-friendly sight gags.

The Hollywood Reporter Stephen Farber

The splashy animation is well-executed but again a bit monotonous for a full-length feature.

Variety Peter Debruge

Eye-popping and mouth-watering in one, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs spins a 30-page children's book into a 90-minute all-you-can-laugh buffet.

Entertainment Weekly Chris Nashawaty

Goes down easy enough at first. But even at a svelte 81 minutes, this meal drags on too long.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

Fairly inventive and exceedingly manic.

Boston Globe Joanna Weiss

It’s not especially filling, but it leaves a pleasant aftertaste.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

There is clear definition between closer and further elements. I've seen a lot of 3-D recently, and in terms of technical quality, this is the best.

The New York Times Daniel M. Gold

If the filmmakers opt to make only light statements about junk food, obesity and solid waste, they at least leave the audience sated on a single serving of inspired lunacy.

Time Out New York Nick Schager

The year’s 3-D deluge continues: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is an amusingly loopy kids’ meal about a small-town inventor.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Stephen Cole

Leaves us with is sporadic showers of laughs for kids under 10. That's a shame, because the film could have been a delight for everyone, if only it hadn't learned to behave.

New York Post Kyle Smith

It's the Food Network meets The Weather Channel meets . . . the Scary Doomsday Preachers Channel.

Chicago Reader Cliff Doerksen

A lumpy stew of weak characterization, lame gags, ADD-afflicted storytelling, and dazzling visual.

San Francisco Chronicle Amy Biancolli

A dead-serious piece of activist filmmaking.