Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 2013

Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine/Vulture: It's all very cute and awesomely disgusting, like a 9-year-old stuffing his face full of food and then pressing his cheeks to make it all explode out. (Nine-year-olds still do that, right?) Read more

Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press: Some might find these tiresome, but let's just note here that this is a kid movie, and KIDS LOVE PUNS. So they laugh at ''There's a leek in the boat.'' And they laugh even more the second time. Read more

Miriam Bale, New York Times: Sometimes so strange, colorful and wildly cute that it may end up becoming a "Yellow Submarine" for a new generation. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Whelk, I hope the makers of "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" earned a nice celery, but I'm afraid they made a hash of things. A hash seasoned with oy sauce. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: If nothing else, the pic's zany tone and manic pace are good for a quick-hit sugar high. Read more

A.A. Dowd, AV Club: Like too many sequels, this second helping of Meatballs confuses bigger for better, piling on the action but misplacing much of the original's charm. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: It's the rare [sequel] that takes the spirit of the original and runs with it, coming up with something uniquely good in its own right. Read more

Tom Russo, Boston Globe: It's another brightly rendered effort, but, as the title indicates, a lot of the real creativity seems to have been used up the first time around. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Better in every respect than the original "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs." Read more

Keith Staskiewicz, Entertainment Weekly: The animation is inventive and elastic, the dialogue zippy and shamelessly punny, and the tone lighthearted and fun, even if on a whole it's not quite a full meal. Read more

Matt Patches, Film.com: A cinematic food coma. Read more

Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter: While not as delightfully breezy as the original, an engaging voice cast and hordes of "Foodimals" still manage to serve up a tasty sequel. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: Honestly, anyone who can pull off a running joke about leeks that does not make you gag, and is in fact a silly delight, deserves props. Read more

Amy Nicholson, L.A. Weekly: By the time a marshmallow blinks its goggle-eyes, you may be convinced you've wandered into the ultimate Japanese grocery store - or perhaps snuck in a very special brownie Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: Mostly, "Cloudy 2" relies on the usual noxious recipe for junky kid flicks: loud noise, pop music and poop jokes. Read more

Jordan Hoffman, New York Daily News: Loud, weird and chaotic - just as kids like it. Read more

David Hiltbrand, Philadelphia Inquirer: This scrumptious sequel follows the same recipe as the 2009 original. Read more

Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: A humorous yet unfocused romp, so unwilling to settle on a single theme that hyperactivity medication should be handed out with the 3-D glasses. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: An innocuous time-waster, "Cloudy 2" will surely be a family smash. Read more

Bill Zwecker, Chicago Sun-Times: Suspend your ideas about what is logical or truly real and just have a nice 90-minute escape into the brightly colorful world directors Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn and their team have created here. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: At its heart, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is fun, even if it is occasionally so chaotic it tramples the movie's flow like a herd of stampeding Buffaloafs. Read more

Todd Gilchrist, TheWrap: Even with new cooks in the kitchen, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 is a completely delicious dish, as it adds a handful of great new ingredients to a familiar recipe. Read more

Catherine Bray, Time Out: Imagine a Jurassic Park constructed entirely out of whatever foodstuff best satisfies your appetite for a pun. Read more

Mike Clark, USA Today: There's not a surprise or moment of tension to be found here, but the film is all energy and color that makes the discomfort of 3-D glasses seem worth it. Read more

Sean O'Connell, Washington Post: Kids will chuckle, for sure. But parents who were pleasantly surprised by the original film's intelligence will miss Lord and Miller's guiding hands, as what once felt so funny now leaves a stale taste. Read more