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A Tasty Tale

By Vickie An

A classic tale gets a delicious new twist in the 3-D animated film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. The movie is based on the popular children's book by Judi Barrett, about a town where food falls from the sky.

The film, in theaters September 18, gives the origins of Swallow Falls' tasty weather. It's all thanks to an aspiring inventor, Flint Lockwood.

Since he was a boy, Flint has dreamed of creating something to help people. But his creations, like hair unbalder and spray-on shoes, do more harm than good.

Still, Flint can't wait to show off his newest invention: a machine that turns water into food. When the gadget destroys the town square and then flies into the clouds, Flint decides to hang up his lab coat. That is, until cheeseburgers start raining from the sky!

Before long, everyone is putting in orders for their favorite foods to rain down. But will the forecast remain sunny-side up forever?

With so many mouthwatering meals to serve, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller had to do plenty of research. The toughest foods to create were the burgers. "They had to fall like real burgers," Miller explains. "The lettuce had to be floppy. The cheese, shiny. We animated each piece separately."

So, what foods would you want to rain down? Actor Bill Hader, who is the voice of Flint, says he would ask for tacos or waffles. "If I saw a waffle taco, I would faint!" he told TFK.

How It Began

Where did author Judi Barrett and illustrator Ron Barrett get the idea for their book? From a single sentence that popped into Judi Barrett's head. "For some reason, I thought of the sentence: 'Henry walked outside and got hit in the head with a meatball,'" she told TFK.

Those chance words turned into a book that has been read and loved by kids around the world since 1978.

Visit timeforkids.com/meatballs for cast interviews.

Next: A Justice Like No Other