Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett and Ron Barrett

In lieu of a famous Thanksgiving picture book (which does not exist) I decided a good way to go would be to do something food-related. And what’s more foodie than food falling from the sky? This one is easy since it had a film of the same name. It’s remembered . . . sorta. Due to its length it isn’t really performed in storytimes, and affection for it has more to do with nostalgia than anything else. Or is it fantastic? A little gem we’ve all ignored? Kate and I tackle the book head on and find some surprising results.

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– The best we could come up with was that this was some sort of obscure inside joke on the part of Ron Barrett. Or just a play on the “Aunt Jemima” pancake mix without having to show the accompanying stereotype.

–  The tomato tornado has many fine and outstanding features. For example, I think that’s Dorothy’s house on the upper right.

– There’s also the man in the boat

– And the Magritte reference

-Here is the weight gain we reference Note too the killer designer chair (that is somehow pre-1980s)

– A lamb chop on the antler of the deer

– Forgive my ignorance. Venison steak is definitely a thing. And now I want some.

– The jello sunset that inexplicably made it into the film:

– Proof that I have the sense of humor of a very small child:

– I see dead children

– This Minh Le post on Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs may be 10 years old, but it’s just as fresh and clear as it was back in the day.

– Fried egg bird and slipping squirrel

– And, finally, we can buy the idea of food falling from the heavens, but wet bread that’s strong enough to build houses? Now you have gone too far, sir!

– Giant Jam Sandwich! I say “mosquitoes” but it was flies, right?

– The book really was #75 on the Top 100 poll. You can read the post here.

– Trailer for the movie – Is this the most successful picture book adaptation to the big screen of all time? I say yes.

– Accident by Andrea Tsurumi – Has a very similar tone to this book

– The Daria opening:

– Here’s the “elders react to” video Kate was talking about. It’s censored but I think it’s still fair to say it’s NSFW.

– Better Off Ted – It was the best show with the worst name.

– Larry Wilmore’s Black On the Air podcast. Loving what the man is doing right now.

Filed under: Fuse 8 n' Kate