The Art Of Sony Pictures Animation’s
Written By Tracey Miller-Zarneke Contents
foreword by Bob Osher 8
introduction 11
character design 15
production design 53
conclusion 143
page 1 “The Aftermath” color key by Jerry Loveland pages 2–3 Food island color key by Dave R. Bleich pages 4–5 Coconut falls color key by Samantha Kallis These pages Flint's house up-shot illustration by Justin K. Thompson “Directors Kris [Pearn] and Cody [Cameron] held true to the spirit and tone of the first Cloudy but took this one to a whole new fantastic place.” —Michelle Raimo Kouyate President of Production, Sony Pictures Animation
Introduction EVERYTHING LEFT OVER IS NEW AGAIN
n the film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, the adventures of inventor Flint Lockwood continue in a way he never imagined possible. His food machine I (the Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator, aka the FLDSMDFR) isn’t as out of commission as he’d hoped when he shut it down at the end of the first film, the falling food having proven more destructive than digestible. While Flint may not have envisioned what the next course would be, Cloudy 2 producers Kirk Bodyfelt and Pam Marsden joined forces with directors Kris Pearn and Cody Cameron to assemble a team of creative minds to whip up a brand-new recipe for fun with food. Whereas the first Cloudy film paid homage to disaster films such as Earthquake (1974) and Armageddon (1998), the sequel takes its audience into a mysterious world of unfamiliar monsters and incredible environments. In Cloudy 2, Flint’s machine has created an entirely new ecosystem derived from food elements, including a “This film has big themes and ideas that are relatable to every coconut milk waterfall that pours into a wondrous lagoon where shrimpanzees, generation . . . but set in a completely wacky world.” tacodiles, fruit cockatiels, and a smorgasbord of other fantastic food creatures, —Bob Osher President of Sony Pictures Digital Productions known as “foodimals,” flourish. Production designer Justin K. Thompson extended the Flint aesthetic established in the first film into a fantastic jungle setting that invokes both curiosity and anxiety, much like the experience of discovery at the heart of The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) or Jurassic Park (1993). Character designer Craig Kellman added to the cast audiences came to know and love in the first film Sequence illustration of Flint’s destroyed lab by Dave R. Bleich and went above and beyond in his efforts to delight and surprise when populating Story panel by Kris Pearn Destroyed FLDSMDFR design by Pete Oswald the new FLDSMDFR-generated habitat. Story sequence by John Norton
To create the look of the film, the team again sought inspiration in the illustration style of Miroslav Sasek, the Czech children’s book artist and author working in the mid-twentieth century. Simplified asymmetrical shapes, strong emphasis on line and simple silhouettes, and the use of painterly textures are visual concepts that Thompson pushed even further in Cloudy 2. Art director Dave R. Bleich and his team complemented the highly stylized shape language with a color palette in the spirit of illustrators Mary Blair and Maurice Noble, drawing upon the whimsy of Blair’s color stylings for Peter Pan (1953) and Alice Color key by Dave R. Bleich in Wonderland (1951) and Noble’s in What’s Opera, Doc? (1957) and Robin Hood Daffy (1958). While exploring the new world his FLDSMDFR has created, Flint embarks on “It’s a story about being true to oneself.” a journey of personal growth as well. In the first film, Flint “realized that having —Cody Cameron Director friends was more important than any invention,” recalls Bob Osher, president of Sony Pictures Digital Productions. “In this story, he comes to realize what it means to have friends and how to be a good friend.” Yet in order to be a good friend, “Flint realizes that friendship is about the sum of its parts.” Flint has to come to terms with his own self-worth, which is challenged by one of —Kris Pearn Director his childhood heroes, the hugely successful inventor-turned-CEO Chester V. Flint gets caught up in Chester’s ambitions, “but eventually faces the question ‘At what cost?’ and recognizes that the cost is his family and friends,” explains Michelle Raimo Kouyate, president of production, Sony Pictures Animation. The images on display in this book represent a small sampling of the tens of thousands of storyboards, character designs, and location concept pieces that were hand drawn in pencil and marker; colored by brush in acrylic, watercolor, and gouache; or digitally painted and rendered during the development of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. It’s a delectable array of animated invention and a tribute to the filmmakers who were inspired to tell this deliciously imaginative story.
Color key by Dean Gordon Generic plant design by Justin K. Thompson; paint by Seonna Hong Color key by Dave R. Bleich flint lockwood
rue to the first film, Flint is full of naïve optimism to a fault,” says “Directors Kris [Pearn] and Cody [Cameron] “ animation supervisor Pete Nash. The character’s bendy, Muppet- Tlike movements, hyperexpressive reactions, and ingenuous knew how to make the most of Flint, like exuberance firmly establish Flint as an avatar of youthful bliss. unmolded clay——he’s like flaw upon flaw But Cloudy 2 finds Flint at a point in his life where he is wrestling with his newly gained confidence and ambition—classic upon flaw, all on top of a good heart.” tensions of adolescence. This makes Flint a conflicted character and —Bob Osher causes him to act disrespectfully toward his father and friends at President of Sony Pictures Digital Productions times. But “when Flint does something jerky, it is innocent. There is no guile in him,” explains head of story Brandon Jeffords. The childlike innocence and behavior from the first film is still there, as are Flint’s good intentions, but Cloudy 2’s Flint sometimes gives in to teenage tantrums, throwing his hands in the air or hunching over and shrugging his shoulders. “We really want to portray him as misguided more than self-centered, so we try to keep a wide-eyed innocence in his expressions even though, in those select moments, he is behaving poorly,” explains Nash. “That, coupled with his non- threatening, Muppet-style movement, helps achieves this balance.” Another development that rocks Flint’s world at the beginning of the film is the arrival of Chester V, “a blue-jean billionaire inventor guy who was part of Flint’s Wall of Achievement, his pantheon of childhood heroes,” explains director Kris Pearn. Chester takes Flint under his wing and makes him part of his Live Corp team, something Flint has dreamt about since he was young enough to dress up as a Live Corp Thinkquanaut for Halloween. At this point in the story, Flint sees being a Thinkquanaut as the best way to use his inventions for good, “to make the world a better place—it’s a lofty goal, not a selfish one,” says producer Pam Marsden. Soon, though, Flint’s faith in Character illustration by Craig Kellman Chester and Live Corp is eroded. “Flint’s greatest downfall is that he Poster by Seonna Hong is very naïve, and he sometimes trusts the wrong people,” says Pearn. Young Flint in costume by Samantha Kallis “It takes him a long time to learn that you have to look at things the Flint final character render way they are—look closely at the reality and act accordingly.”
Story panels by Liz Ito
“The food needs you. They believe in you. I believe in you. You just need to believe in yourself.” —Tim Lockwood to his son Flint
Color beat by Dave R. Bleich Color key by Jerry Loveland Color keys by Dean Gordon
Sardine Circle web concept illustration by Seonna Hong Color beat by Dean Gordon Design and paint by Aaron Spurgeon Early concept illustration by Justin K. Thompson Early sizzle piece by Todd Pilger, Omar Smith, and James Batttersby Character design by Craig Kellman
“Is it wrong for a mother foodimal to protect her young? It’s like watching an episode of Wild Kingdom.” —Bob Osher President of Sony Pictures Digital Productions A MOVEABLE FEAST 10 OF OTHER FOODIMALS 8 9
rom bananostriches to Pearl the Onion to wildebeets, the FLDSMDFR truly outdoes itself by creating a F fantastical foodimal spread. But the buffet of concepts that baked in character designer Craig Kellman’s head was 4 even more bountiful. 3
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“No matter what the creature is, the idea is that it looks like real food. Wild scallions, for example, have 12 the material properties of the vegetable put into a structure that can articulate like a horse.” —Pete Travers Visual Effects Supervisor 13 “For the meatbalrus, it got tough to stretch 14 the meaty tomato surface and still keep this foodimal looking like that’s what he is made of.” —Pete Travers Visual Effects Supervisor
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16 “The bananostrich has different markings, much like a horse. Tim’s is more bruised than the others.” 1 Cantalope 5 Bananostrich 9 Pearl the Onion 13 Wildebeet —Aaron Spurgeon Visual Development Artist 6 2 Mosquitoast 6 Meatbalrus 10 Fruit cockatiel 14 Marshmallow 7 3 Cucumbirdy 7 Leek 11 Lemmin 15 Wild scallion 4 Sasquash 8 Crabcake 12 Kiwi bird 16 Susheep cloudy with a chnace of meatballs 2 revenge of the leftovers
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 picks up where Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs left off. When inventor Flint Lockwood discovers that his most infamous machine the FLDSMDFR is still operating and is now creating giant mutant food beasts that threaten to destroy civilization, he knows he’s the only one who can stop it. With the fate of humanity in his hands, Flint and his friends must embark on a dangerously delicious mission battling hungry tacodiles, shrimpanzees, apple piethons, double bacon cheespiders and SPECIFICATIONS other food creatures to save the world... again! The Art of 144 pages Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 celebrates the artistic 11 x 10 inches collaboration of artists to create a fascinating movie 279.40 x 254 mm that is sure to be enjoyed by children of all ages. Foldout hardcover Over 300 pieces of concept art
SALES Chris Gruener Cameron + Company 707.769.1617
Strawberry variations by Craig Kellman Forkenknifenspooninator design by Chris Reccardi Front endpapers gatefold Color script back endpapers Big Rock Candy Mountain cavern concept illustration by Jerrry Loveland