First Look: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

Last year, Sony Pictures Animation had a hit with monster mash-up film Hotel Transylvania, starring the voices of Adam Sandler and Selena Gomez and directed by Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter's Lab), which made over $300 million worldwide. The critics didn't all love it though (check out our review here) and indeed SPA's best film to date still remains 2009's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. As such, I'm very excited to check out the sequel when it hits cinemas in September!

USA Today have this gorgeous and wonderfully vibrant first look at the sequel, showing off an assortment of creative, pun-filled Food-imals joining Flint, Sam and co. Bill Hader, who voices Flint in the films, also spoke to USA Today about the film and the Jurassic Park idea it latches onto. USA Today's article about the film says:

"The animated sequel "picks up very closely after first film ended," says Hader, whose character boasts a reformed relationship with his father (James Caan) and can now be found working for his idol, Chester V at the Live Corp Company, alongside the best and brightest inventors in the world. "They've won the battle but they haven't won the war yet," warns Hader, laughing. "The war against food," that is.

Behold the Flamangos!

The new problem awaiting Flint? His FLDSMDFR invention, which last turned water into an uncontrollable buffet of food raining upon Swallow Falls residents, "hasn't been destroyed like we thought it had," says Faris. Rather, "it's been working away," producing food-animal hybrids. "There's been an evolution happening," she says.

"It's created these living food creatures that have basically taken over Flint's home, the island where he lives. That island is kind of like Jurassic Park," says Hader. The punny food-animal hyrids, or food-imals, include the likes of tacodiles, fruit cockatiels, cucumbirds, bananostriches, flamangoes, wildabeets and watermelophants."

Kristen Schaal (who's had previous animation experience as Trixie in Toy Story 3 and Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vactian) joins the cast, and Terry Crews is replacing Mr. T as Officer Earl. The directors of the original, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, (the duo who most recently directed 21 Jump Street and are currently directing Warner Bros.' Lego movie) aren't returning (although they are executive producing) and the sequel is instead helmed by Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn, who worked as a story artist and head of story respectively on the first film.

Cloudy 2 is due for release on 27th September in the US and 25th October in the UK.