The Spongebob Squarepants Movie

Often, when a television show makes it to the silver-screen it, well, sucks. This is especially true of cartoons in general and really true of Nickelodeon “Nick Toons.” They seem to stretch a half hour episode into an hour and half of diluted jokes in some cases… crap.

Thankfully, the nuts at United Plankton Productions decided to break this mold and created a feature length Spongebob Squarepants movie that will not disappoint!

The Synopsis

Plankton, the pint sized scourge of Bikini-Bottom, seems to have a viable plan for undersea conquest – which involves, as usual, getting the Krabby Patty recipe. This time however, he succeeds though political manipulation and the theft of King Neptune’s crown. To save the day, Spongebob and Patrick must travel far and wide to retrieve the crown, all the while proving to the world and themselves that they are men! Do they succeed? That would be telling.

The Execution

True to form for anything Spongebob, the movie is full of corny gags and non-sequiturs that will entertain children but more so the parents.

The artwork and animation is a bit better than the TV counterpart (one would hope so for the price of a movie these days). The live action cutaways are kind of hokey, but fit in nicely. It is Spongebob after all.

As for the story – it progresses in a true 3 act cinematic fashion, and no scene is put in without reason just for the sake of the laugh… despite the chaotic nature of the show.

In short, a solid movie.

The Verdict

Has to be a 6 out of 6. Anyone who has to bring a kid to it will be able to enjoy it. Any fan of Spongebob will love this movie, even though there are slight errors in the Spongebob Universe continuity (e.g. total Neptune redesign voiced by Jeffrey Tambor rather than John O’Hurley), and the distinct lack of the Flying Dutchman and that surfer dude fish.