Relentlessly optimistic, drunk and defeated, man-child, sponge-man -this movie has it all. Most of the parents in the audience didn't get it. But I've been an outspoken SpongeBob fan for years. Hell, I'll bet I like the television show even more than my children do -and they like it a lot.It's hard to describe this film, at least in a way that will do it justice. Is it great? In it's own twisted, surreal way, sure. It's littered with double entendres, to be sure, and a few nautical butt cheeks, too. I suppose the studio insisted on the latter. The bottom line is that we need SpongeBob, maybe more than we ever did. His good cheer in the face of disaster is downright inspirational. Plus, he can blow bubbles with the best of them.
The evil villain, Plankton, speaks for all of us when he says, "His chops are too righteous!"
Featuring a marvelous cast of guest voices including Jeffrey Tambor ("Arrested Development"), Scarlet Johansson ("Lost in Translation"), Clancy Brown ("The Shawshank Redemption"), Alec Baldwin and, of all people, David Hasselhoff, the film may lack the sparkle of the best episodes of the series but it more than makes up for this shortcoming with a number of witty gags. Kids will enjoy the antics of SpongeBob and Patrick while adult males will empathize King Neptune's attempts to hide his bald spot with his crown (he's desperate enough to resort to Hair in a Can at one point although that doesn't quite work out as planned) and envy David Hasselhoff as he uses his pecs to launch the duo back into the sea. There's also a serious message as Mindy the King's daughter encourages SpongeBob and Patrick to be kids and be OK with it.
Featuring a great transfer with bright and vivid colors, Bikini Bottom has never looked so, well, animated. A very sharp transfer with few digital artifacts to distract viewers from the absurd images, "Spongebob" looks better than any sponge has a right to. The 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround mix is used to good and sometimes very comic effect.
The 20 minute animatic segment gives viewers a peak into all the preparation work that went into producing the movie. Director Hillenburg's comments provide interesting and sometimes funny insights into the challenge of producing a movie much less a TV series as funny as this. The behind-the-scenes featurette is both charming and quite funny with a glimpse into everything from creating the absurd story at the heart of this film to the hilarious recording sessions featuring the voice cast. There's also a featurette The "THQ" game demo is actually quite fun but doesn't really provide that much of a taste as to what the game could do. The Case of Sponge "Bob" features Jean-Michel Cousteau in a tongue-in-cheek short documentary. We see an informative and fun discussion of real sponges with undersea footage narrated by Cousteau with writer/director Hillenburg. "Saving the Surf" features Chad Nelsen, Matt McClain and Steve Pezman founders of the Surfrider Foundation discussing the importance of keeping our environment clean and the impact of our pollution on the ocean and our beaches. The teaser trailer for "Submarine" features footage of "Das Boot", "U571" and "The Hunt for Red October" intercut with footage created for the cartoon trailer for "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie". There's also previews for other Paramount family friendly titles as well.
A funny visit with the denizens of the deep, "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" will keep you and the kids entertained. The film doesn't pander to kids and has just the right level of slapstick humor to keep adults entertained as well. Although it does have a serious message at its core, the film is a lot of fun.
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The plot (no spoilers (well, sort of, but not really)): Plankton (once again) formulates a plan to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula. He realizes that he has gone through plans A through Y. Karen, his computer wife (going mobile this time around) asks about Plan 'Z'. Plankton finds the plan, and he starts to scheme. His plan: Steal King Neptune's crown, and make Mr. Krabs take the blame. It all goes along well, and Mr. Krabs becomes frozen in ice, and SpongeBob and Patrick must venture to Shell City to get the crown before Mr. Krabs is executed in 6 days. While they are away, Plankton sneaks into The Krusty Krab, and gets the formula, hatching his diabolical scheme to enslave all of Bikini Bottom! It's all up to SpongeBob and Patrick to "Get The Crown, Save The Town, And Mr. Krabs"!I really hoped to enjoy this film when I heard that it was coming out. I have been a big fan of the show nearly since it started, and there was no doubt I was going to see this.
November 19th came, and it was time for the movie. My friend and I went with his little brother and sister. We watched the film with high expectations (not always a good thing, I know), and we all loved it! The characters were great, the humor from the show is more present than most of the new episodes, and it is a flat-out great movie for the fans.
Many people have complained that the humor is a little too grown-up for the kids, and is considerably crude at times. Obviously they must not watch the show, considering the humor is as blatantly obvious in the show as it is in the movie. Some of the jokes in the film, I highly doubt little kids would understand, anyways.
This film was definitely an enjoyment for me, from start to finish. It had great moments of humor, both crude and clean, and even had some bit parts that were sad (wait until the 'Shell City' scene). Definitely a pleasure for the fans of the show, and maybe even people who are just discovering it.
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Having watched this with my child & company at the theater (and then at least 10 times at home), I can't escape putting a review here. All of the familiar slapstick absurdities of Spongebob are here. The joys of Bikini Bottom (yes, that's the name of the town!) are present as well. Mr. Krab's Krusty Krab fast-food joint (where Spongebob works as fry cook), Spongebob's bosom best buddy Patrick Star (as in starfish, 'though I've yet to see a pink one in nature), the square, schadenfreude-laden Squidward (cashier at the Krusty Krab).Others have mentioned it and I can't deny--it's difficult to take a 30 minute show broken down into two segments and weave a cohesive plot over an hour. This film manages to make fair go of it, keeping the laughs flowing with new material, situations and an actual (*gasp*) plot. There are new characters, especially the pride-filled King Neptune and his thoughtful daughter Mindy...but then again, Spongebob afficianados will remember the phrase uttered by Spongebob on many an occasion, "By Neptune's Crown!". This movie gives some life to that phrase, as the plot revolves around a dastardly plot by Plankton to steal Neptune's crown and Rule The Undersea! He's apparently moved on from coveting merely the Krabby Patty secret sauce by now.
Positive messages about teamwork, friendship, not giving up, setting goals and then achieving them. Not too scary for the wee-wee ones--even scary put-ons end with a chuckle. Two thumbs up for me, this is a funny family film grown-ups with a quirky sense of humor will enjoy watching with their little ones. At least the first 11 times!
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Okay, maybe my hopes were a bit high, but I thought Spongebob was going to be one of those rare feature-length NickToons that I'd actually love. While it beats "Jimmy Neutron" or something like "RugRats" or "Wild Thornberrys", it's still hard to banich the idea that plagues all of those movies that they didn't exactly develop a movie-length plot to go with the script. I liked "SpongeBob", but the movie gets more mileage out of his charm than the fact that it's a movie, and even my kids were visibly disappointed (my 7 year old insisting she saw the funniest parts on internet trailers).The story Spongebob gets a nasty surprise when he's NOT picked to manage the new Krusty Krab opened up by his boss, the money-hungry Mr. Krab. In the hopping sea-scape of "Bikini Bottom", where life is care-free, Spongebob wants nothing more than to prove he's man enough to run Krab's new restaurant (located conveniently next door to the old one). Unfortunately, Plankton Krab's nemesis has a plan to steal the formula to the "Krabby Patty", Krab's secret recipe, as part of his larger plan of world domination. Though embittered at Krab for not getting the top job, will Spongebob put it aside and save Krab's restaurant? Worse, as part of his evil plan, Plankton frames Krab for stealing the crown of King Neptune. The King is sensitive about his crown, both because it is a symbol of his power and because it covers a nasty bald spot. Persuaded by his spunky daughter Mindy (Scarlet Johanson), the enraged Kind gives Spongebob and his trusty if dim friend Patrick 10 days to find the crown (Patrick bargains it down to 6). Along the way, Patrick and Spongebob share many adventures, and learn to find their inner strength as they battle biker-fish, hatchet fish (bearing ice-cream sundaes), an assasin fish sent by Plankton and the compulsion to dance like a baby whenever somebody plays the "Goofy Goober" song.
Like I said, it was fun, but no laugh riot not even for my 7 and 5 year old. Neither knew who David Hasselhoff was (though I appreciated the joke); My normally brave 5 year old had to be taken out at one scene (the ice-cream bearing hatchet fish scared him to tears). he was okay for the rest of the flick, but everybody came out feeling as if they missed something.
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