DIY Foodimals, and it's all fun!

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(Daddy blogs)

If you haven't seen the sleeper animation hit of 2009, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, go buy the DVD and watch it. I can guarantee the kids will have a fantastic time sitting right through it, with its bizarre sense of humour, sense of unpredictability and some breathlessly paced and visually stunning action scenes. In fact, the boys and I enjoyed it so much that we have watched it thrice already!

And it is a good thing too, since its sequel will be coming out in the theatres on 10 October 2013.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 picks up where Sony Pictures Animation's hit comedy left off. Inventor Flint Lockwood's genius is finally being recognized as he's invited by his idol Chester V to join The Live Corp Company, where the best and brightest inventors in the world create technologies for the betterment of mankind. Chester's right-hand-gal - and one of his greatest inventions - is Barb (a highly evolved orangutan with a human brain, who is also devious, manipulative and likes to wear lipstick). It's always been Flint's dream to be recognized as a great inventor, but everything changes when he discovers that his most infamous machine (which turns water into food) is still operating and is now creating food-animal hybrids – “foodimals!” With the fate of humanity in his hands, Chester sends Flint and his friends on a dangerously delicious mission, battling hungry tacodiles, shrimpanzees, apple pie-thons, double bacon cheespiders and other food creatures to save the world again! 

Undoubtedly, the stars of the sequel has got to be the Foodimals and I have to say they all look so adorable, with cute-sounding names! Here are some of the boys' (and my) favourites.

And in case you wish to view them in all their live action glory, you can do so in the video below:

I showed it to the boys and they got so inspired that they too wanted to create some Foodimals of their own! So brainstormed we did, and it was then off to the supermarket to get some groceries for our big project.

For our first Foodimal, the boys wanted something dangerous and spiky so we settled on the porcupine. We decided to use Pandan Cake, which we cut a slice and made a slit at the thinner end of the cake for its mouth. Then we - and here comes the fun part for the boys - poked numerous toothpicks into its back, added a pair of eyes and for a dash of ferociousness, we gave it some sharp teeth.

And here it is - PANDANPINE!

Something more docile was next up on our menu and for this, we used a toothpick to attach a grape to one end of a bunch of cauliflower.

Then, we used the stalks from the grapes and used it as the 4 legs for the Foodimal.

I think you can probably guess what it is by now. Yup, it is a sheep and the boys called it a CAULISHEEP!

 I have to say, it does look mightily adorable, no?

By now, the boys were on a roll and it was time to tackle our most demanding Foodimal yet. We needed to call upon the stalk of a broccoli for this so that our next Foodimal will take flight.

Ayd wanted to create a butterfly and this time around, we wanted to inject a more local flavour into this particular Foodimal. And one can't get any more local than roti prata... especially since it was one of the boys' fave foods too!

We envisioned the prata to be the wings of the butterfly but this was where it got a tad challenging. Prata isn't exactly the most sturdy material around so I had to poke wooden chopsticks into the broccoli stem to act as a frame and drape the prata over it.

And there you have it, our very aptly named - wait for it - PRATAFLY!

 And here they are once again - all living in perfect harmony.

Together with their human friends too it seems.

I have to admit - creating one's own foodimals can get pretty addictive and I just had to conjure up a final one. This is a relatively simple one which I used just some carrot and grapes to create my very own GRAPENGUIN.

I reckon this would be an extremely cute (and easy) way to get kids to eat their vegetables and fruits, right? Though the Pandanpine had already set his sights on my poor Grapenguin for his next meal.

If you are feeling inspired too, why not make your own Foodimal too and stand to walk away with Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 movie premiums and preview tickets while you are at it! All you need to do is follow this simple foodimal-winning recipe:

Step 1: Follow @SonyPicturesSG on Instagram

Step 2: Create your own Foodimal. Give it a name too to make it more special! If you're running out of creative juice, visit Sony Pictures Singapore's Facebook page for more inspiration.

Step 3: Snap a photo of your yummy creation

Step 4: Upload the photo on Instagram with the hashtag #Cloudy2Foodimals and tag @churpsg

Need some examples to kick-start your foodimal-making journey? Here are some!

But hurry, submission ends 3 October 2013 and contest is open to Singapore residents only. Still can't get enough of Foodimals you say? Download the FREE Foodimal Frenzy app game available on both iOS and Android platforms too! 

Until the movie opens in cinemas on 10 October 2013, happy Foodimal-creating!