PLOT: An animated movie in which two unlikely heroes, SpongeBob SquarePants and oafish Patrick Starfish, go on a Homeric quest to save their sunken town, Bikini Bottom.
Holy goofy goobers, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie is sponge-tastic! Wet, wild and wonderful! A sudsy sensation!
Who knew that a rectangular kitchen sponge in tightie-whities, square brown pants, a tiny white shirt and a short red tie could become a big movie star?
Actually, millions of clued-in kids, that's who. SpongeBob is already a TV superhero, a cultural icon, a feckless little goof who lives in a pineapple in Bikini Bottom and hangs out with his best friend and big oaf Patrick Starfish.
The only real question was whether SpongeBob & company could make the leap to the big screen in a feature-length production. After all, the TV episodes are 11 to 13 minutes long.
But the good news is that the movie chugs along beautifully with the same kind of off-the-wall verbal humour, physical slapstick and emotional pathos that fuels the TV show. There's just more of it -- and a grand scheme behind it.
The secret here is that SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg -- who also served as the movie's director, co-producer, co-writer and storyboard animator -- gave SpongeBob and Patrick something important to do. The two unlikely and hapless heroes set out on a fantastic quest, a perilous journey that suggests a Homeric odyssey. And it's not a joke. There is even a Cyclops who threatens their lives.
Hillenburg also takes a calculated risk that pays off big: More than on the TV show, which used bits of live action, Hillenburg puts the animated SpongeBob and Patrick directly into the real world. They even befriend a hairy-backed human, David Hasselhoff (who hilariously self-mocks by playing himself in his Baywatch bathing suit). The technique is low-tech but seamless. And the story blossoms.
The plot point behind the odyssey is to save money-grubber Mr. Krabs from being frozen and deep fried by King Neptune over a misunderstanding. But the stakes rise because the road trip turns into the key to saving Bikini Bottom from a horrible fate engineered by the evil Plankton.
Of course, the even more grander purpose is that the man-child SpongeBob learns something valuable about himself on the quest. Hillenburg did not invoke Greek classics for nothing. There is something noble behind all the goofiness.
The movie rounds up the usual suspects: SpongeBob (voiced by wildly brilliant Tom Kenny), Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke), Squidward (Rodger Bumpass), Eugene Krabs (Clancy Brown) and Plankton (Doug Lawrence). Added are star voices for King Neptune (Jeffrey Tambor), Mindy Mermaid (Scarlett Johansson) and Dennis Hit Man (Alec Baldwin).
The musical numbers are terrific, too, while the soundtrack includes songs from a startling range of artists, including Avril Lavigne, The Flaming Lips, Wilco, Ween, Tom Kenny and even heavy metal rockers Motorhead.
Like the TV show only more so, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie is a treat for kids. It will also appeal to clever adults who have figured out just how cool the SpongeBob phenomenon really is.
(This film is rated G)
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