Lake Stevens man behind the animated fun of ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’

Published 9:19 pm Sunday, September 12, 2010

When Chris Miller decided to go into the entertainment business, his parents were neither surprised nor thrilled.

Let’s start with their lack of surprise.

The Lake Stevens native was always doodling cartoons or writing short stories as a kid. After leaving the Northwest to attend Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, he landed internships at Mad magazine and Industrial Light &Magic, the famous special effects company founded by George Lucas.

Still, his parents were anxious about their son entering the competitive field.

“You think, ‘Great, they’re never going to have a job,’ ” Charie Miller, his mother, said. “But he did.”

You can say that again. Chris Miller’s first major motion picture, a 3-D adaptation of the children’s book “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” opens in theaters on Friday.

The computer animated movie adds a backstory to the slim 32-page book that tells the tale of Chewandswallow, a town where food rains down from the sky. However, the movie also incorporates the key scenes from the 1978 book, written by Judi Barrett and illustrated by Ron Barrett.

“There are lots and lots of little references for people who are big fans of the book,” Miller, 33, said.

Miller and his co-director, Phil Lord, count themselves among that group.

“It was both our favorite kids book,” Lord said. “When we found out Sony had the rights, we basically grabbed them by the lapels and forced them to let us make it.”

The co-directors also gave personal touches to the film, with Miller incorporating a few sly references to his own background in the Northwest.

For instance, Miller’s father still works in Granite Falls, so Chew-andswallow starts off as Swallow Falls before a scientist gives it its odd weather patterns.

Miller, who now lives in Los Angeles, also dug up old pictures of Astoria, Ore., his mother’s hometown. He used those as inspiration for Chewandswallow’s seaside look.

“That town (Astoria) was kind of a run-down gray town, and it turned itself around,” Miller said. “The movie sort of focused on that, as it (Chewandswallow) becomes a big tourist destination.”

The directors cast Edmonds native Anna Faris alongside “Saturday Night Live” comic Bill Hader to voice the lead characters, a perky newswoman and a well-meaning scientist.

They fleshed out the cast with stars including Neil Patrick Harris, Mr. T and Andy Samberg, another “Saturday Night Live” veteran. The goal was to create a timeless tone that also felt cutting edge today.

“All the actors down to the last one added a whole bunch of jokes and turns of phrases that were not in the script,” Miller said. “And we’re very, very thankful.”

Miller’s parents also are thankful. Their son has a job he loves, and they don’t need to worry about his line of work as much anymore.

“We went to see something at the Alderwood mall and there was a poster (for his movie) outside that was 25 feet high,” Charie Miller said. “It’s kind of nice to see your son’s handiwork.”

By Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455; arathbun@heraldnet.com.