The 10 Best Food Fight Scenes In Movie History

"Food fight!" It's the cry that's preceded a million moments of kids (and adults) gleefully picking up their grub and hurling it at each other. Food fights aren't just the sort of thing that happens in school cafeterias around the world, though: They're a cinematic staple. Filmmakers have been putting food fights on screen in various forms since the early 1900s, with some of the earliest silent slapstick movies scoring their biggest laughs from pies thrown into people's faces. As time went on and movies became more developed, so did the food fights that they portrayed. Eventually, food fights on film became full-scale affairs.

There have been many of these battles on the big screen throughout the years, and some pretty epic food fights on TV, too. Which ones are the best, though? In our opinion, it's those movies that capture the feeling of wild, childish joy that a good food fight evokes. This can be found in films ranging from "Matilda" to "National Lampoon's Animal House," which feature some of the best food fights ever recorded. Elsewhere, like in "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2," food fights have broken the mold and put brand-new twists on the form. Let's dive into some food-based movie-making magic.

Few movies have nailed a food fight as well as 1991's "Hook." In the classic kids' adventure tale, the former Peter Pan — now the career-focused everyman Peter Banning (played by the late, great Robin Williams) — has sat down for a meal with the Lost Boys. The catch? The food they're eating is imaginary. As they play along with each other, Banning's imaginative spirit gradually wanes, and he winds up in a war of words with Rufio, portrayed by Dante Basco. Banning finally loses his cool, flicking an empty spoonful of something at Rufio, which suddenly turns into a very real, very colorful sludge. Banning's imagination is awakened, and he and the boys have a full-scale food fight.

The scene is a joyous explosion of emotion and color, and it beautifully portrays the ability we all had as kids to conjure things out of thin air. In an interview with Gamespot, Basco revealed what they were actually throwing in the scene. "It was just like frosting and crazy gobbledygook, but there was also ... like gray stuff, underneath it, and then there was just actual weird food on the table, too," he stated to the publication. He went on to say that "We were just a bunch of rowdy kids anyway, and to give us a chance to have a food fight, I think it was just fun. It's just every kid's fantasy." We'd have to agree.

A climactic food fight scene that also acts as a clever way to make a movie kid-friendly? It could only be "Bugsy Malone." The 1976 musical comedy film (which was subsequently made into a stage show) found an ingenious solution to a big problem with its food fight sequence at the film's conclusion. As the story is a loose adaptation of Prohibition-era gangster conflict with children portraying the main characters, it couldn't exactly stay true to its source material. Instead, it needed to solve how to put child actors in a full-on shootout. Director Alan Parker also had to ensure the film would retain a child-friendly rating.

Cream-filled gun barrels were the answer. As Bugsy and his compatriots pull their guns and fire on Dandy Dan, it's not bullets that shoot out, but "splurge," or big blobs of cream. This isn't the first time we've seen these guns in action, of course — but a bona fide food fight ensues, as the patrons in Fat Sam's Speakeasy hurl pies at each other, with "Adagio For Strings" playing in the background. The result is a hall of people absolutely covered in whipped cream, and a scene that's simultaneously funny and dramatic.

One thing that on-screen food fights sometimes lack is the threatening feeling that precedes them. That's not the case in "National Lampoon's Animal House." The John Belushi vehicle has one of the most famous food fight scenes of all time — even though the actual food part is almost secondary to the lead-up. What people remember most is what comes before, as Bluto (played by Belushi, in a dirty T-shirt) sits down with a group of uptight, well-dressed college students, who rail on him for being unkempt. Bluto responds by putting a piece of food in his mouth, staring down his foes, and punching his cheeks to spray food everywhere. He runs away, and the cafeteria erupts into chaos, with all the students throwing their food at each other.

This scene was famously filmed in a single take, which is probably for the best considering the mess made by the actors. It wasn't the only food fight on set, either. The legend goes that director John Landis encouraged the people playing the Deltas to antagonize their enemies, resulting in one actor — Mark Metcalf – being pelted with food upon arrival. It's safe to say that all of that chaos made it onto the screen.

This food fight scene is a classic not just because it's so well-done, but because it's so delightfully weird. A pie fight scene in the middle of a zombie movie, which is set in a mall? Come on. George A. Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" isn't exactly a stress-free experience, but the horror film is punctuated by a highly memorable sequence in which our heroic band of humans fights back against the zombie horde that's taken over the mall. In doing so, the survivors find anything they can to take the monsters down — including a bunch of cream pies that get splattered in their undead faces.

It's not the most dangerous weapon they could have used, but it's definitely one of the funnest. That's part of the charm of this scene: In a dark and terrifying movie, the pie fight injects a much-needed dose of levity. Apparently, the idea was suggested by actor and makeup artist Marilyn Eastman, who threw the suggestion into the mix while the filmmaking team was figuring out a way to slay the zombies (maybe they should have tried some zombie cocktails — those things are pretty strong). Eastman floated the idea as a joke, but it stuck, and made it onto the big screen.

Sure, movie food fights are good when they feature a bunch of children hurling stuff at each other — but when they portray kids getting back against adults, they're even better. This is what viewers are treated to in the 1996 film "Matilda," when the titular character and her classmates decide that they've finally had enough of the terrifying Miss Trunchbull (played by the highly underrated British actress Pam Ferris). As Trunchbull makes one last desperate attempt to retain control over her school, Matilda uses her psychic powers to virtually beat her into submission. Finally realizing that they're no longer under her thumb, the kids grab their lunchboxes and pelt her with any food they can get their hands on, and she stumbles out of the school.

It's a food fight scene in a movie that features a lot of food elsewhere: It's hard to forget the infamous Bruce Bogtrotter sequence, where Trunchbull forces the hapless child to eat a full chocolate cake. Here, though, food is used as punishment for the person who's made the children's lives a misery, and Trunchbull (whom Ferris based on her gardener) is beaten by her own tools of war.

Mel Brooks knows a thing or two about meta jokes, and that's exactly what you get with the food fight in "Blazing Saddles." This one feels intentionally wild, and is perhaps Brooks' way of poking fun at the over-the-top nature of food fights in the films of yore. However, the fourth wall is truly broken when the camera cuts from the cowboys pieing each other to a studio guide on the Warner Bros. lot, showing a group around — who subsequently end up with pie on their faces too.

The chaos of the scene was matched by the chaos of making the entire movie. The screenwriting team included Richard Pryor, who was experiencing substance use addiction at the time, and who engaged in risky behavior during writing sessions. Its former lead actor, Gig Young, also experienced alcohol addiction and had to be replaced by Gene Wilder on the first day of shooting. "Blazing Saddles" was also beset by lawsuits, including one from Hedy Lamarr, who objected to a spin on her name being used for another character.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Now this is what we like to see: A food fight scene that feels almost exactly like an actual food fight in a school cafeteria. "Whip It" definitely delivers on that front, combining comedy, impending threat, and high drama all in one go. As Maven — played by the indomitable Juliette Lewis — comes over to "congratulate" Ruthless (played by Elliot Page) for joining the team, she throws a fry in Ruthless' face. Ruthless plays along before hurling a handful of food back at Maven. The rallying cry goes up — "food fight!" — and everyone's plates begin to fly. Triumphant opera blares over the film's soundtrack, as the whole cafeteria goes to town on each other.

That this scene manages to be both joyous and dramatic is a testament to the love that went into the film, and director Drew Barrymore's understanding of what she wanted to capture. "Whip It" was based heavily on '70s and '80s classics, and you can definitely sense that throwback feel — not just in the food fight, but in every frame of the movie.

The '90s were a time when filmmakers were interested in storylines that involved kids getting parents (or parent figures) back together. "Mrs. Doubtfire," "The Parent Trap," and "It Takes Two" all followed this formula, and did so to great effect. However, only one of them featured a food fight for the ages that also served to move the adults' reconciliation forward.

Just like "The Parent Trap," "It Takes Two" takes place at a summer camp, and has all of the excitement and freedom that such an environment creates. Similar to "The Parent Trap," "It Takes Two" also features twins, although these are real-life twins in the form of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, as opposed to Lindsay Lohan playing both parts (and, somewhat strangely, "It Takes Two" treats the kids as though they're unrelated). It's the Olsens that initiate this supersized food fight, and as they trip one of their fellow campers over – sending a bowl of food flying onto Steve Guttenberg's head – the rest of the kids spy their opportunity for some mischief. Guttenberg flicks food at co-star Kirstie Alley, and the entire cafeteria explodes into a whirlwind of food.

Food fights don't get much bigger than this. The pie fight in 1965's "The Great Race" isn't just a massive food battle — it's also the longest food fight in movie history. The scene is an utterly astonishing, incredibly choreographed sequence in which pies fly around a pastry kitchen, splattering first into one face, and then another, and then into none other than the face of film star Natalie Wood. Wood reacts in style, and pretty soon, everyone is completely drenched in a thick coating of cream, with the pies just continuing to appear out of nowhere.

It probably comes as no surprise that a scene this long and complicated took a while to shoot. In fact, it took five whole days. The four-minute scene ended up being a serious headache for the actors, who eventually grew sick of the demands made of them by director Blake Edwards. Actor Jack Lemmon even lost consciousness several times due to being hit in the face repeatedly by pies. Edwards himself got in on the action, showing his actors how best to throw the baked goods at each other. They got him back eventually, pelting him with pies when they'd finally got the last shot.

We love it when a film takes an idea and spins it on its head. This is exactly what happens in "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2," a film that's — of course — all about food (it literally has sentient marshmallows in it, guys), and which features a food fight for the ages. The battle in question occurs during the climax, in which an army of anthropomorphic food items literally do battle with a human-robot army. Cheeseburgers, bananas, berries, gummy bears, and pie slices all get in on the action in a slick, stylish sequence that puts a smile on the faces of kids and adults alike.

Elsewhere, the animation team behind the film put in food wherever they could. Locations like Ham Canyon, Pickle Village, and the Breakfast Bog are an explosion of creative freedom, and provide a background of food in virtually every frame. The love that went into animating this movie is clear, and the result is a kids' film (and food fight) that's pretty delightful.