Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (TV series)

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (also called Cloudy: The Series[1]) is an American-Canadian animated comic sci-fi sitcom television series produced by DHX Media and Sony Pictures Animation in association with Corus Entertainment for Cartoon Network and YTV.[2] Based on the children's book and the film series of the same name,[2] Cloudy is the first television series to be produced by Sony Pictures Animation and was animated using Toon Boom Harmony.[4]

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Also known as	Cloudy: The Series[1]
Genre	Animated sitcom Comic science fiction Sci fi
Based on	Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Sony Pictures Animation the book of same name by Judi Barrett
Developed by	Mark Evastaff Alex Galatis
Directed by	Jos Humphrey Steven Garcia Andrew Duncan Johnny Darrell
Voices of	Mark Edwards Katie Griffin David Berni Seán Cullen Patrick McKenna Clé Bennett
Composer	Steffan Andrews
Country of origin	Canada United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	104 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Steven DeNure Ken Faier Asaph Fipke Kristen Newlands Rick Mischel Mark Evestaff
Producer	Lesley Jenner
Running time	11 minutes
Production companies	Sony Pictures Animation Corus Entertainment[2] DHX Media DHX Studios Vancouver[3]
Distributor	Sony Pictures Television (U.S.) DHX Distribution (International)
Release
Original network	Canada YTV Teletoon United States Cartoon Network and Boomerang SVOD (Season 1) CBS All Access (Season 2)
Picture format	1080i (1.77:1 HDTV)
Audio format	Dolby Digital
Original release	February 20, 2017 – June 30, 2018

The series officially premiered in the United States on March 6, 2017 on Cartoon Network, with a sneak peek airing on February 20, 2017.[2] After an unsuccessful run, the show moved to Boomerang's SVOD service, where it debuted on January 11, 2018. In Canada, the series was originally planned to air on Teletoon,[5] but instead premiered on YTV on April 6, 2017. On February 2, 2018, DHX Media announced the series has been picked up for a second season.[6] The entire first season is available on Netflix in the United Kingdom and in the United States. On January 24, 2020, the show was removed on Boomerang's streaming service app.

Plot

The series is a prequel, featuring the high school years of Flint Lockwood, the eccentric young scientist in the films.[7] In his adventures, he is joined by Sam Sparks, a new girl in town and the school's "wannabe" reporter, along with Flint's dad Tim, Steve the Monkey, Manny as the head of the school's audiovisual club (among other professions), Earl as a school gym teacher, Brent still riding on his fame as from the sardine commercial, and Mayor Shelbourne, who serves as school principal, and who wins every Mayoral election on the pro-sardine platform.[8]

The show clarifies that when Flint and Sam met in their adulthood in the first film, it was not their first meeting. They first met and became friends in high school. In the first episode, Flint says that if Sam ever has to move away from Swallow Falls, he will invent a memory eraser, as she had moved around frequently and did not want the memory of another lost friendship to sadden her.

Episodes

Season		Episodes		Originally aired
				First aired	Last aired	Network
	1	52	49	February 20, 2017	December 3, 2017	Cartoon Network (U.S.)
			3	January 11, 2018		Boomerang SVOD (U.S.)
	2	52		April 7, 2018	June 30, 2018	YTV (Canada)

Cast

• Mark Edwards as:[9]
  • Flint Lockwood; an inventor. Bill Hader was considered to reprise his role in the series.
  • Steve; Flint's pet vervet monkey who communicates using a Speak and Spell monkey thought translator Flint invented. Neil Patrick Harris was considered to reprise his role in the series.
• Katie Griffin as Sam Sparks; a weather intern from New York City and a reporter. Anna Faris was considered to reprise her role in the series.[9]
• David Berni as "Baby" Brent McHale; an infamous celebrity mascot of Baby Brent's Sardines. Andy Samberg was considered to reprise his role in the series.[9]
• Seán Cullen as:[9]
  • Tim Lockwood; Flint's widowed father. James Caan was considered to reprise his role in the series.
  • Mayor Susan Shelbourne; the gluttonous and egotistical mayor of Swallow Falls. Bruce Campbell was considered to reprise his role in the series.
  • Old Rick; an elderly citizen in Swallow Falls.
• Patrick McKenna as:[9]
  • Gil; Mayor Shelbourne's neglected son
  • Manny; Sam's Guatemalan cameraman and a former doctor, pilot, and comedian. Benjamin Bratt was considered to reprise his role in the series.
• Clé Bennett as Earl Devereaux; the town's athletic cop and Cal's dad. Terry Crews was considered to reprise his role in the series.[9]

Production

Sony Pictures Animation and Canadian family entertainment company DHX Media signed to co-produce the series in 2014, starting with twenty-six 22-minute episodes (fifty-two 11-minute segments).[10] DHX Media handles the global television and non-U.S. home entertainment distribution, along with worldwide merchandising rights, while Sony distributes home entertainment in the United States.[8] Turner Broadcasting System handles international distribution via Cartoon Network.[11]

Broadcast

Boomerang (Latin America) premiered Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs on May 12, 2017 with a broadcast of the first 4 episodes, for next Friday continue with recurring releases (double episode), meanwhile Cartoon Network (Latin America) premiered the series on May 18, 2017 premiering a new episode every Thursday. Cartoon Network Australia will premiere Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs on September 2, 2017.[12] In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the series was first broadcast on Cartoon Network on August 28, 2017 starting with the episode "Who You Callin’ Garbage!" (S1EP5).[13] In France, the series started broadcast on Boing from September 2017; in the same period it started on Cartoon Network in Italy. In India, the series will premiere on Cartoon Network. New episodes began premiering on Boomerang's SVOD service in the United States in January 2018. Older episodes of the series are also available on Boomerang.[14] On February 2, 2018, DHX Media announced the series has been picked up for a second season.[6] On November 30, 2018, the show was made available for streaming on Netflix in the United States.

In August 2019, CBS All Access acquired the US broadcast rights to the series, beginning with Season 2.[15]

Home media

Region 1:

• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: Swallow-een Falls Spooktacular! (October 10, 2017)[16]
• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: Lobster Claus is Coming to Town (October 31, 2017)[16]

Reception

Critical response

Common Sense Media rated the show a three out of five stars stating "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs doesn't attempt to lead directly into the movies and in fact presents a major inconsistency for the later stories by introducing Sam to Flint during their teen years. Of course this is only a concern for those who have seen the chronologically later stories first; new viewers without a history with these characters won't have a problem and likely will want to follow up with the movies at some point. A big plus to the show? Even though the science often isn't realistic, the hero and heroine make nerdiness seem pretty cool."[17]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Recipient(s) and nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2018	Saturn Awards	Best Animated Series or Film on Television	Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs	Nominated	[18]
2019	Canadian Awards	Best Animated Program or Series	Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs	Nominated	[19]

References

1. YTV (TV channel) (2017). "Monday with a Chance of Meatballs". we'll follow with a Cloudy: The Series marathon
2. Wolfe, Jennifer (February 16, 2017). "First Look: 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' Series Set for March 6 Premiere". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
3. https://www.skwigly.co.uk/dhx-media-serving-second-season-cloudy-chance-meatballs-series/, Skwigly
4. Amidi, Amid (December 8, 2016). "First Look at Cartoon Network's 2D 'Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs' Series (Clip)". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
5. Sony Pictures Animation (June 20, 2016). "Sony Pictures Animation Announces 2017 & 2018 Slate" (Press release). PR Newswire. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
6. "DHX Serves Up Second Helping of 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs'". Animationmagazine.net. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
7. Perlman, Jake (9 October 2014). "'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' coming to TV". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
8. "DHX Media and Sony Pictures Animation Taking Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs to Television" (Press release). DHX Media. October 9, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
9. "Who You Calling Garbage? - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Videos". Cartoon Network. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
10. Friedlander, Whitney (9 October 2014). "Sony, DHX Creating 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' TV Series". Variety. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
11. Vlessing, Etan (5 October 2015). "MIPCOM: Sony's 'Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs' TV Show Sells to Turner Broadcasting". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
12. "Cartoon Network Australia And Boomerang Australia September 2017 Highlights". RegularCapital: Cartoon Network International News. RegularCapital/Turner Broadcasting System Asia-Pacific/Catapult Communications. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
13. "Cartoon Network UK New Show Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs The Series Monday 28th August". RegularCapital: Cartoon Network International News. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
14. "'Cloudy,' 'Pup Named Scooby-Doo' Join Boomerang Lineup This Month". Animationmagazine.net. 4 January 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
15. https://deadline.com/2019/08/cbs-all-access-adding-childrens-programming-cloudy-with-a-chance-of-meatballs-danger-mouse-inspector-gadget-1202664783
16. http://www.tvmegs.net/2017/09/cloudy-with-chance-of-meatballs-series.html
17. "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - TV Review". Commonsensemedia.org. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
18. McNary, Dave (March 15, 2018). "'Black Panther,' 'Walking Dead' Rule Saturn Awards Nominations". Variety. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
19. https://etcanada.com/news/435306/the-winners-canadian-screen-awards-presented-for-creative-fiction-storytelling/

External links

Official website at Sony Pictures Animation

• Official website at Corus Entertainment
• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs at IMDb