It has been ten years since the last feature and some time since any new television episodes have debuted, but SpongeBob SquarePants still has a strong fan base… or at least that is what the people at Nickelodeon think. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water brings back all of the show’s familiar characters as well as a new gimmick featured in the film’s final act – a brief excursion out of the water and onto land. But is the trip ashore worth your while?
This time out, the story follows a lone pirate (Antonio Banderas) who retrieves a valuable book from a deserted island. Asked to read it by some nearby seagulls, he describes the tragedy that befalls SpongeBob Squarepants (Tom Kenny) and the residents of Bikini Bottom. It all occurs when the evil Plankton (Mr. Lawrence) attempts to steal a recipe to for the extremely popular Krabby Patty burger. After an amusing fracas, the booty is lost by all parties. The hero must face numerous obstacles to recover the formula.
Admittedly, the rapid-fire gags and brief running time of the series serve the show better than the movie. It’s tough to sustain this kind of slapstick tone over ninety-minutes and there are a few slow spots along the way. Additionally, one wonders if more couldn’t have been made of the secret recipe itself. The contents of the Krabby Patty are so highly addictive that viewers themselves may become curious as to what is in there and whether or not these cravings are a good thing for the Bikini Bottom locals. Still, such themes are a bit too heavy for a jokey kid’s flick.
As expected, the movie is bright and impressively animated, with vibrant colors popping off of the screen. Yet after all the hoopla, the live-action climax isn’t as humorous as the traditional animated sequences. Occasionally, it seems as if narrator/pirate played by Banderas has been directed to behave a little too broadly and over-the-top in his mannerisms. However, there’s a steady stream of gags that do hit the mark and every so often the movie scores with some inspired, absurdist and downright trippy moments.
As an adult, it’s hilarious to see Bikini Bottom turned into a post-apocalyptic wasteland reminiscent of the Mad Max series and the humor that follows as the residents go mad and turn on each other. The Plankton character is also well used, and is particularly funny when he is forced to join his sponge adversary to retrieve the formula. His attempts to verbalize the concept of “teamwork” are especially effective.
Also welcome for adults are the eclectic references to other films that include the likes of The Shining and even a Spaghetti Western or two. And from a storytelling perspective, it cleverly weaves and switches perspectives and narratives between the pirate world and the undersea animated environments in a unique and interesting manner.
At the end of the day, how much can one criticize a children’s movie that features a God-like, rapping space dolphin named Bubbles? After experiencing the sheer bizarreness of it all, the answer is not a whole lot. Even if the treasure chest in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water isn’t completely full this time out, there’s still enough gold in this adventure to please the majority of viewers.