If you haven’t seen the first Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs don’t worry, the opening of this sequel gives a full run-down of it. Wow. How lazy can writers be? I’m surprised a voice-over didn’t start the segment with, “Previously on Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs…”
It makes me shake my head and sigh when I read reviews about kid’s movies written by reviewers that have no children. I imagine them writing their review from a city loft filled with white furniture while sipping a rare chardonnay.
After trying hundreds of times to explain to my oldest son what the word “crude” means and how it applied to his table manners, I was ready to give up. Then we saw Dreamworks newest animated comedy The Croods and he finally got it. “Mommy, are trying to say that I eat like a caveman?” “YES! That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to say!” Well worth the price of admission if all we got out of it was making that point.
There are three monster movies out right now. It’s October so, “No duh.” (That’s 80’s speak for, “It’s completely logical that the studios would release monster-themed movies the same month as Halloween.”) How did I choose to take my boys to see this one? Easy. It’s the only one of the three whose trailer didn’t make them run screaming from the room with their eyes covered yelling, “Aaaahhh! Creepy dead dog!….TURN IT OFF, MOMMY, TURN IT OFF!” Hotel Transylvania’s trailer made them laugh, “Mommy, Dracula made the grown-up man suck his thumb and put him in a time out!” That’s high comedy in Kidsville. In fact, we’ve been watching the “Mini-movies” as they like to call them, for a month before the movie’s release. My boys had entire scenes memorized before they ever saw the movie.
The good news for parents taking their kids to see this installment of the series is that taking your “wee” ones (pun intended) to the bathroom during the film will not hinder your enjoyment or leave you lost in the plot whatsoever. We had to “go” during the climax of the movie. “Are you SURE you can’t wait a few more minutes, it’s almost over.” “No, Mommy…I filled up my bladder to the top and it’s about to spill out!” We came back to the theater and Manny & his gang were all still right where we left them: Sliding around on the ice.
My family is a big fan of this franchise. We fell in love with the characters in the first Madagascar. My 4-year-old loves Marty the Zebra, “Because he’s black and white.” My 7-year-old loves Alex the Lion “Because he’s funny and because I know four Alexes in my class.” My 42-year-old husband will laugh out loud at anything uttered by big-eyed, King Julien sidekick, Mort. And me? Melman the Giraffe’s neurosis makes me giggle but I LOVE me some Motto Motto the Hippo. In fact, his song “I like ‘em big, I like ‘em chunky…” sung in Madagascar 2 is my ringtone when my husband calls me. (Eh-hem.) But I digress…