My Movie Review on The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
Greetings and salutations, my friends.
This is your top-of-the-line film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
Today, for my fourth analysis on an installment of the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise, and in honor of both SpongeBob's 25th anniversary & series creator Stephen Hillenberg, I'm gonna give you guys my take of "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie".
Here's the rundown of it:
For his entire life, SpongeBob SquarePants has lived a carefree existence among his friends in Bikini Bottom, including by serving as the fry cook for the town’s finest eatery: The Krusty Krab. And thanks to his boss, Mr. Krabs, opening up the Krusty Krab 2, things can only get better.
However, when Mr. Krabs is unexpectedly framed for stealing King Neptune's crown and selling it to Shell City, SpongeBob and Patrick Star immediately volunteer to retrieve the crown and clear Mr. Krabs of the crime. With the journey to Shell City being an incredibly dangerous & difficult one to take, and with only 6 days to bring the crown back to Nepture, SpongeBob and Patrick go on the biggest adventure of their entire lives!
Meanwhile, after countless failures to steal the formula for making krabby patties, the devious Plankton has finally stolen the recipe. And not only that, he's taken over Bikini Bottom!
I really can't lie, "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" is a film I've been wanting to create a review of for quite a while. Whenever I thought about what member of the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise I wanted to analyze next following my critique of "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water", the 2004 film of the same name was the one that came to my mind the most! It was also a movie I watched on occasion as a child, so the decision as a whole was easy to make.
As with many previous films, though, I often put reviewing "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" on the backburner due to there being other movies I wanted to analyze more. That is, until now.
With the year 2024 having come, I realized that SpongeBob himself was going to be 25 years old, mainly since his series first aired in 1999. I wanted to do something to celebrate this momentous occasion, and I knew that analyzing the 2004 film was the right way to do just that, no matter what date I'd post it. I also thought that it'd be the perfect dedication to Stephen Hillenburg following his passing on November 26, 2018, both because he was the creator of the SpongeBob franchise and the director of this movie!
All in all, I finally found my motivation for reviewing "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie".
In preparation for creating the critique, I rewatched "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" two times this year so that I could be absolutely certain over what I thought of it. I wanted to make sure my head was in the game, especially since this was going to be something special to create.
So, what do I officially think of "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" in words?
Well, even after rewatching the film twice this year, I'm proud to say that "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" is still an amazing gem to behold. And in terms of movies based directly on TV shows, this film is one of the very best ever made!
For instance, the direction and story by Stephen Hillenburg, and the screenplay by him, Paul Tibbitt, Tim Hill, Derek Drymon, Kent Osborne, and Aaron Springer, were fantastic!
As I watched the film, I could tell that Hillenburg was giving his all in bringing this undersea venture to the screen. He practically put his heart and soul into making the movie worth existing, with his co-screenwriters helping along the way. The story Hillenburg and company concocted was perfect for adapting into a feature-length format, and when it came to taking the characters to the next level and ensuring that the movie wouldn't seem like a mere extended episode, they clearly didn't mess around. Plus, the story kept itself together incredibly well, and everything maintained a constant relevance.
Comedy-wise, "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" was definitely one of the funniest films I've ever watched. All of the jokes featured in the movie made me laugh no matter what, and I could tell that the production team gave a lot of thought over how the humor could appeal to all ages and not cause itself to get out-of-place. Some of my favorite gags were the ones revolving around King Neptune's bald spot, and the parts featuring the live-action human pirates were not only entertaining but a surprisingly natural element for getting audiences invested in the film.
Of course, what really helps the movie standout all-the-more is that the filmmakers didn't limit themselves to ensuring that it had terrific comedy. To push the envelope further, Hillenburg and company gave the film a balanced tone by incorporating heartfelt, emotional, and dramatic moments throughout the story, and the best part was that they were genuinely soul-tugging. While SpongeBob and Patrick were journeying to Shell City & back, there were also times where things would become dangerous, scary, and tension-filled, which was perfect for showing how difficult & challenging the duo's quest was going to be; it would particularly escalate to where a person could openly hope that SpongeBob & Patrick could come out on top regardless of story expectations.
Likewise, the themes and morals were equally well-done.
SpongeBob's situation throughout the story was that, because of his childlike personality and goofiness, many people didn't think he could handle responsibilities or tasks that were bigger than simply making krabby patties; and that's despite the fact that he's proven himself to be a committed hardworker in the past. It was something that SpongeBob himself started to think was true, especially after he remembered all the times he got distracted by fun stuff.
But you know what?
SpongeBob proved that even someone who's "just a kid" can make a big difference in life if they work hard and preservere in their goals, regardless of whether the objective is a strenuous one to fulfill or if the odds are stacked against them. It also teaches that you don't have to change yourself into someone you're not just to prove that you're capable of accomplishing something. All of these things are great lessons that I think people should definitely take into account, I'll tell you that.
In addition to this, the animation was astonishing!
Having learned that "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" was made under a budget of 30 million dollars, I really must say that Hillenburg and the animators made excellent use of their resources. Hardly anything about the overall visualization was cheap-looking, and from a retrospective standpoint, the team obviously managed to strike a balance between being visually-faithful to the show while updating it for a cinematic experience! It's a feat that most animated movies based on their TV show counterparts aren't able to accomplish, and that's something I highly commend with this one.
Along with this, the settings and environments were a beautiful sight to behold. I loved how they reflected the texture of the show while having a greater sense of color, and despite the film not containing very many computer-animated elements, the ones that the film featured mixed flawlessly with the hand-drawn animation. Also, the animators did an excellent job at making the character animation visually-fluid and expressive, and they'd occasionally be over-the-top in a good way.
When it comes to the live-action scenes directed by Mark Osborne, I thought they were excellent as well.
Like I already said, the scenes featuring the pirate crew were enjoyable. But, there were so many other live-action moments I enjoyed too, and Mark Osborne brilliantly helped them feel like the kind a SpongeBob installment would have. Not to mention the hand-drawn animated characters mixed so well with the live-action settings & elements that it looked like the sea creatures were actually in the real world!
The music by Gregor Narholz was magnificent, if I may add.
As a guy who never heard of Gregor Narholz before learning that he composed for this movie or recalls seeing any other film he was involved in, I thought Narholz rocked it with his score for "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie". Everything about his music both sounded and felt like the kind a SpongeBob movie would have, and the crescendo he incorporated helped the score be bigger than any of the music material provided by the show. The way he captured the film's tone through his music was equally impressive, because every melody he created matched both the humorous & serious scenes like a glove.
Another thing I can't deny is that, despite the movie not being an all-out musical, the songs it had were each instant showstoppers. "Goofy Goober Rock" in particular was perhaps one of the franchise's strongest musical numbers, and not just because of its catchy beat and lyrics either.
Finally, the performances of the cast, characters, and character development were fantastic.
In regards to the film's human-visible performers, I thought they were all splendid in their own way. The humans didn't have as much screentime compared to the hand-drawn animated sea creatures, but each of the cast members gave excellent portrayals that helped their characters standout in the best way. David Hasselhoff's cameo in particular is perhaps the biggest example, as it was both delightful to watch and played a surprisingly meaningful part in the story.
Of course, the real stars of this motion picture were the animated characters. Whether they were old or new, each of them were a blast to hang out with, and the vocal performances were 100% stupendous! And I really can't lie, there were several moments involving the characters that I found to be instantly meme-worthy, and the performers made every piece of dialogue they had into a memorably delightful quote.
First and foremost, I'd like to talk about the film's prime three new additions: King Nepture, Mindy, and Dennis.
I don't know if this would be considered an unpopular opinion amongst the SpongeBob fandom, but along with classifying the Neptune of this movie as an entirely different character from the one featured in the show thanks to his design & voice, I personally like the 2004-film-King Neptune way more than the show-King Neptune. For me, the 2004-film-King Neptune had a much more memorable personality and sense of character compared to the show-King Neptune, and every time he was onscreen, he'd make any moment something that's either entrancing, pleasurable, or both. Plus, Jeffrey Tambor killed it with his portrayal of Neptune, and it sounded like he was so into the part that he did more than just use his voice for portraying the character.
In retrospect, a big thing that I'd love to see in a future SpongeBob installment is both the 2004-film-King Neptune and show-King Neptune go into a faceoff of sorts. It'd be interesting to see all two Neptunes in the same place, and the possibilities over how they'd interact with one another are incredibly infinite.
Moving on from that...
Mindy was a great addition to the franchise as well. Sure, she's basically the typical purehearted princess who believes that everyone should be treated with kindness rather than anger, but that's alright. It made her a nice contrast to Neptune, and I loved how she'd often range as a voice or reason and support. Scarlett Johansson did an excellent job portraying Mindy, and now that I think about it, this movie was possibly the very first I saw to involve Johansson.
Dennis the hitman was an interesting newcomer too. As the very guy whom Plankton hires specifically to kill SpongeBob and Patrick to keep them from retrieving Neptune's crown, Dennis showed himself to be a seriously dangerous individual that shouldn't be underestimated. He frequently displayed what he's capable of without being a showboat, and you can tell that he takes pleasure in being the source of someone's pain & outright killing others. One thing's for sure, Alec Baldwin portrayed the character perfectly, and that's a sentiment I equally have for his work as Makunga in "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa".
As for the series-regular characters, and the performances of the people portraying them, I thought they were all fantabulous. The characters were faithfully depicted & lovable, and the performers sounded like they were having a ball being aboard this project. However, in terms of which series-regular characters stood out to me the most in the this movie, the ones I'd like to talk about more than anything are SpongeBob, Patrick, and Plankton.
For starters, there were a number of reasons for why Patrick was among the regular characters that I enjoyed watching in this movie, especially to where I consider his appearance in it to be perhaps his finest hour. In the early seasons, Patrick was depicted as someone who, despite his lack of intelligence, was wonderfully big-hearted & cared about his friends; whereas in most seasons made after the 2004 film, too much emphasis would be placed on Patrick being dumb like it's just about his only trait, and he'd be lacking in positive qualities. In the 2004 film, though, Patrick is depicted as far from just a featherbrain. Aside from frequently making me laugh every time he was around, I loved how he'd act as a source of comfort & support for SpongeBob whenever he was down-in-the-dumps, and he had great development throughout the movie too. And to top it all off, Bill Fagerbakke gave perhaps his greatest performance as Patrick yet.
Plankton was a joy to watch in this movie as well. It was amazing how, after all the times he failed to acquire the Krabby Patty formula, Plankton finally got what he wanted and gave his restaurant the success he was craving for years. Even more surprising is that he apparently wanted to use krabby patties as part of a scheme to literally takeover the world! Basically, along with his sense of humor and personality being intact, Plankton developed to where the film depicted him at his most evil. In the vast array of SpongeBob installments I've seen Plankton in, I've always considered him to be a rare example of a villain-wannabe done right, and the 2004 film provides as a flawless instance of why I think this; along with being amazingly three-dimensional, of course. Mr. Lawrence gave a fantastic portrayal of Plankton in this movie, and I can tell that his involvement as co-screenwriter was a particular influence for how the character could be faithfully portrayed while still being taken to the next level.
Lastly, SpongeBob himself was quite honestly at his very best in this movie. Along with being as funny as ever, the filmmakers maintained SpongeBob's innocence & purity while still making him engaging enough to carry his own movie, which is something that not very many modern SpongeBob installments are able to accomplish. I also enjoyed how Hillenburg & company depicted a side of SpongeBob that was insecure and vulnerable whenever he was in his downtimes, including when others often voiced their doubts. On top of that, SpongeBob's character development was outstanding with a capital 'O', and I was rooting for him every step of the way. Plus, Tom Kenny gave one of his best performances as SpongeBob by far, and not just because of the flavor he'd give the comedic-timings either.
One thing I'd also like to say is this:
I agree that Hillenburg and company created an undeniably excellent series finale for the franchise. I mean, yes, Nickelodeon did create more seasons for the show after the film finished its theatrical run, which would later be followed by more SpongeBob films and side character-centered spin-offs. But, if the franchise ever does come to an end someday, I think "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" will still provide as something for people to fallback on in terms of a satisfactory and conclusive end. Heck, SpongeBob and Plankton's character arcs were notably given an extraordinary wrap-up in this movie, so the intentions of having it serve as the end of the franchise are definitely there.
In conclusion, "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" is without a doubt one of the SpongeBob franchise's greatest installments. It was funny, heartfelt, and the people involved were obviously going all-out in making the film a fantabulous experience.
So, I rate "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" a solid five out of five stars.
Happy 25th anniversary, SpongeBob. I know that this celebration piece of mine came in much later than the actual date, but I hope the fact that this was posted in 2024 qualifies.
And rest in peace, Stephen Hillenburg. You were truly a revolutionary creative in your own right, and the world will truly never be the same without you.
Oh, and here's a fun fact I'd like to share:
Both SpongeBob and I were born in 1999, and we're both officially 25 years old. In a way, we basically grew up together.
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