At this point, there’s really no need to explain SpongeBob
SquarePants. It is the undisputed flagship franchise of Nickelodeon, easily
holding the record as the network’s longest-running series to date with 265
episodes produced since the show’s debut in 1999. Simply put, it’s easy to see
how the show, inspired by creator Stephen Hillenburg’s love of the ocean, has
become an indelible staple of the pop-cultural zeitgeist as its impact can be
seen across many mediums including, of course, film. In 2004, Hillenburg
directed the franchise’s first feature film, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie,
and while it may not have been the official series finale that he wanted it to
be, it was a solid hit with critics and audiences and is very much fondly
remembered by those who grew up with it. Hillenburg would end up stepping down
as SpongeBob’s showrunner shortly after the film’s release but would eventually
return to work on the series in 2014 and helped develop its second feature
film, 2015’s The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, which was another
critical and commercial hit. And while he tragically passed away on November 26th,
2018 due to complications of ALS, his legacy continues to live on through the
show, which is still going strong today and has now given us its third feature
film, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, which went through quite a
bit in terms of its release.
As you might have guessed, Sponge on the Run ended up
being one of the many films that was severely impacted by the COVID-19
pandemic, which forced it to abandon its originally intended theatrical release
date of May 22nd, 2020. However, unlike other films that got
impacted by COVID-19, the method in which this film’s release was reworked was,
admittedly, an odd one. In other words, instead of just being released via a
streaming service or by taking the chance and releasing it in theaters anyway
despite the obviously smaller crowds, this film’s release was spread out over
the course of this past year and varied depending on the region. While it did
end up seeing a theatrical release this past August… said release only occurred
in Canada. International audiences (apart from China) would then proceed to get
it in November… via Netflix. But as for the U.S., we didn’t officially get it until
recently when it debuted on ViacomCBS’ newly reworked streaming service, Paramount+
(formerly CBS All-Access), on March 4th. So, yeah, this was a rather
strange development to behold since no other film that was supposed to come out
in 2020 but had to get pushed back to a later date has been released in a way
that was as thoroughly complicated as Sponge on the Run’s release was.
Nevertheless, the third cinematic outing of the sponge who lives in a pineapple
under the sea is now available to domestic audiences, and as someone who very
much grew up with this show (but not to the point where I’m an obnoxious gatekeeper
about it… I’ll elaborate on what I mean by that later…), I’d say that this is
another solidly entertaining adventure with these beloved characters.
In the peaceful town of Bikini Bottom, life couldn’t be any
more perfect for SpongeBob SquarePants (voiced by Tom Kenny). He’s got a great
job as the fry cook of the Krusty Krab and is always surrounded by his best friends
like Patrick Star (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke). However, it could be argued that
the greatest relationship that SpongeBob has with anyone in Bikini Bottom is none
other than the one that he has with his pet snail Gary as it’s a friendship
that has stood strong ever since the two first met when SpongeBob was just a
young lad at the Kamp Koral summer camp. On one fateful day, however, SpongeBob
is distraught to discover that Gary has gone missing. Along with Patrick, he
soon learns that Gary has been taken (unbeknownst to them by SpongeBob’s boss
Mr. Krabs’ (voiced by Clancy Brown) long-time nemesis Plankton (voiced by Mr.
Lawrence) as part of his latest plan to steal the Krabby Patty formula) to King
Poseidon (voiced by Matt Berry), ruler of the Lost City of Atlantic City.
Specifically, King Poseidon desires snail slime so that he can maintain his youthful
complexion, and unfortunately for him, his snail resources have been completely
dried up at this point. And so, driven by his devotion to his beloved pet,
SpongeBob and Patrick head off on the perilous journey to Atlantic City, which sees
them encountering both new friends and new enemies along the way as they
realize that they’ll need the help of their friends to rescue Gary.
The first thing to note about this film is how it adopts a
radically different animation style when compared to what fans of the show are
familiar with. Ever since its 1999 debut, SpongeBob SquarePants has been
produced in the classic 2-D animation style, which naturally carried over into
the first two films. But as for Sponge on the Run, it fully opts for the
3-D animated route that was utilized for the climax of Sponge Out of Water when
the gang ended up in the real world. Still, for what it’s worth, this film’s
visuals are well-handled as they don’t betray any of the franchise’s iconic
designs and even manage to maintain something of a two-dimensional vibe a la films
like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. This faithfulness to the source
material also applies to the film’s story, which dutifully maintains the show’s
knack for mixing its traditionally light-hearted atmosphere with its frequent journeys
into some utterly surreal territory. I mean, where else are you going to see Keanu
Reeves cameoing as an all-knowing tumbleweed named Sage or Snoop Dogg leading a
bunch of zombie pirates in a full-blown musical number? That said, though, if
you’re a long-time fan of this show, you might find this film’s plot to be a
bit bare-bones and routine since it does rehash a few of the series’ old plotlines
(e.g. anyone who’s watched the show through at least Season 4 will know that
this isn’t the first time that it’s done a ‘Gary goes missing’ plot). And yet, with
some solid emotional beats that are excellently performed by the franchise’s well-established
voice cast, I’d argue that this is what gives the film a slight edge
over its predecessor, Sponge Out of Water, which was, admittedly, hindered
a bit by the off-putting mean streak that the series started to adopt after the
first film.
As I’ve noted in the past, I’m very much a part of the
generation that grew up with SpongeBob SquarePants. Sure, it’s been
quite some time since I’ve watched the show regularly, but I can’t even begin
to describe the impact that it’s had on me, and in a way, this also applies to
my work on this site. Back in 2015, I did a pair of SpongeBob posts in
honor of the then-impending release of Sponge Out of Water, which
consisted of a personal Top 25 Favorite Episodes list and a review of the first
film. To this day, those two posts still stand as some of the most popular pieces
that I’ve ever published for this site, with the Favorite Episodes post topping
them all with a view count that ranges somewhere between 7,000 and 9,000 views.
However, these posts are also a clear-cut example of how I was in a much
different mindset at the time when it comes to my views on the show. Back then,
I’ll fully admit that I was simply among the many who spent way too much time
lamenting about the show’s abrupt decline in quality in the wake of the first
film’s release. Nowadays, though, I find myself looking at the franchise’s fandom
with a wearier eye since we’re at a point now where SpongeBob is
arguably known more for its memes rather than anything from the show itself,
especially since, from what I’ve heard, it did manage to genuinely overcome the
rough patch that it went through in the late 2000s. And on that note, it’s time
to address the source of the franchise’s biggest controversies… its own fandom…
Yes, as crazy as it may seem, the SpongeBob fandom
has somehow become another dominant player in our current landscape of increasingly
toxic internet fandom, mostly due to their intense devotion to Stephen Hillenburg’s
legacy and equally intense hatred of anything that they deem ‘offensive’ to
said legacy. Their outrage has affected a whole bunch of things in recent years
such as the franchise’s Broadway musical when a live recording of it was aired
on Nick and the Super Bowl LIII halftime show, which made headlines thanks to a
petition from fans to include the song ‘Sweet Victory’ from the classic episode
‘Band Geeks’ as a tribute to Hillenburg… which didn’t end up happening. But as I’m
sure many of you are aware, the biggest victim of their hostility has been the series’
first official spin-off, Kamp Koral:
SpongeBob’s Under Years, a prequel
series that debuted on Paramount+ alongside Sponge on the Run, which
directly ties into the new series thanks to its various flashbacks. It’s also
worth noting that the idea of following the younger versions of SpongeBob and
the gang at a summer camp was originally meant to be the main premise of this
film back when it was subtitled It’s
a Wonderful Sponge and, as that
title suggests, would’ve included an homage to the 1946 holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life. However, as you might have guessed, a lot
of SpongeBob fans didn’t take too kindly to Kamp Koral to the point where they’ve claimed that Stephen Hillenburg would’ve never
approved of it (even though, spoilers, he was 100% aware of it and, according
to the franchise’s long-time writer/showrunner Vincent Waller, probably would’ve
loved it…).
But that’s about as much as I’ll say when it comes to this, to
be perfectly frank, frustratingly overblown scandal. Instead, I’ll just conclude
today’s review by stating that The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run is
yet another solid cinematic outing for one of the most iconic animated franchises
in the history of pop-culture. While it may not exactly be the SpongeBob that
most fans are familiar with from a visual perspective, it certainly captures SpongeBob’s
most endearing traits such as its quirky humor and its heartfelt themes. In
fact, I’d argue that the latter aspect is what ultimately helps this film gain
a slight leg up over its immediate predecessor, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge
Out of Water. While that film did, at least, have Stephen Hillenburg
involved in a much greater capacity when compared to what was going on with the
show itself, it still suffered quite a bit from several of the issues that had
been plaguing the show at that time. And while Sponge on the Run is far
from perfect, namely due to its largely predictable plot, it still manages to
feel more in line with the charm of the original series’ first few seasons. I
can’t say that it’s ‘better’ than the first SpongeBob film, but at the
same time, I’ll admit that this is mainly just because of how many times I’ve
seen that one. Sadly, this new film might end up getting somewhat overlooked
due in large part to the frankly undeserved negative reputation that both it
and Kamp Koral have been garnering from the fandom, but if you’re not
following that mindset and are, at the very least, willing to give this
new film a chance, it’s a solid little flick.
Rating: 4/5
IN MEMORY OF
STEPHEN HILLENBURG (1961-2018)
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