CODY CAMERON, KRIS PEARN

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBB. 

USA, 2013.  Columbia Pictures Corporation, Sony Pictures Animation.  Story by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Eric Rivinoja, Screenplay by Eric Rivinoja, John Francis Daley, Jonathan M. Goldstein, based on characters created by Judi Barrett, Ron Barrett.  Produced by Kirk Bodyfelt, Pam Marsden.  Music by Mark Mothersbaugh.  Production Design by Justin Thompson.  Film Editing by Robert Fisher Jr..  

His unpronounceable invention created weather that rained hot dogs and hamburgers from the sky, but in the sequel his home island has gone full-on Lost World when science-geek Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) is informed that his creations have become sentient beings.  More exciting, though, is that his work has caught the eye of Flint’s childhood idol, the host of a science-based television series who tells him that he is taking over the island in an effort to help control the situation of dinosaurs made out of cucumber and tacos.  Flint and his girlfriend Sam (Anna Faris) can’t stay away despite being instructed to do so, and before long they have suited up the entire team from the original film and set forth upon the gastronomically varied wilderness in the hopes of finding out some answers for themselves; what they discover will lead to disappointment for our idealistic hero.  It’s as colourful and fun as the first one, perhaps even a bit more creative, but there’s something creepy and totally North American about the way that food is seen in these films: in a time when obesity is a shrill societal obsession and starvation a problem everywhere else, these movies involve a disturbing abundance of food that is viewed as sinister and that nobody ever bothers to eat.  It’s unlikely that anyone older than twelve will find much to really enjoy here, but it has its moments.