The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water

My assumption is people just say new spongebob sucks and automatically assume it sucks. Quite the contrary. They'd be pretty surprised to probably learn the original creator and writer came back to help make this movie. They used a lot of older humor and elements in general that made it feel like something from seasons 1-3. It was enjoyable to watch, and much better than I had expected.

Spongebob Squarepants is one of the greatest animated television shows of all time. It sounds weird, but for some reason, it shaped the sense of humor of a generation and possibly one of the inspirations that helped exceed the imagination and creativity of many cartoon shows that came after. The show itself has been terrific in its first three seasons, but after its first feature film, it slowly loses its touch until every character becomes something else other than what they were once known for. This latest Spongebob film might be the end of its glory as it seemingly panders the audience into another lame Alvin and the Chipmunks/The Smurfs approach, but surprisingly that only becomes a marketing stunt, and it turns out that most of the movie is basically just like the show, but at its original form. It didn't need any grand or blockbuster type of plot to save the material, we just need to revisit the stuff that we truly loved about Spongebob.

Other than its creative animation and zany undersea world, Spongebob Squarepants has always been known for its richly established characters and unique sense of humor. I haven't seen the show in a while, specifically the newer episodes, but I do remember how the ones that followed season four have become paler incarnations of the show. This feature film, while stuck in posing as a typical family movie fare, is actually meant to stay loyal to what really defines this show. The characters have gone back to their classic personalities (Spongebob can now be reasonable again than just a complete goofball) and the humor is smartly priceless in an ultimately unhinged way. The film doesn't offer anymore bigger plot than retrieving the Krabby Patty secret formula, it's all about fooling at the audiences as it messes with the logic and their senses, the Spongebob way, of course.

The mix of animation and live-action is definitely never a stranger to Spongebob, but its involvement is often taken as a joke. Here, it's supposed to be its central idea. Though, it takes so long for them to get out of the water, in spite of its title, but when they do, it still sticks to its own surreal, extremely ludicrous style. But their welcoming antics up there felt forced, in comparison. The 3D stuff really exists to attract the viewers who thinks it's gonna be a cute adventure with the characters as silly superheroes, but it's mostly just a small payoff to those who have that expectation. It kind of cheats them, otherwise it's a cool trick for instead luring them to what makes this material so enjoyable. But we don't have to underestimate this approach too much, because apparently it's still pretty fun when they are in the real world, giving the humans some hilarious reactions, like the one who's wondering if the Krabby Patty he's eating is hallucinogenic after encountering the gang as superheroes.

As feature film goes, it doesn't go beyond bombastic, if it does then it's all about the weirdness instead of epic proportions. This is basically just like a new episode on a length of an actual movie. And the cast has always been great no matter what. Out of all the cartoons Tom Kenny has been, Spongebob will always be his best and he once again brings the lovable charm to the character. While Antonio Banderas makes a fun turn as the villain, but his moments are the one where he interacts to talking seagulls which amazingly works for this character.

The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water is what the fans deserve. Not sure how the newcomers would exactly react to it, but this movie fully represents the true spirit of the show. It would be a brilliant surprise to the ones who missed this great side of Spongebob. It didn't need any deeper sentiments or darkness (unless we're referring to its twisted humor, because it gets a little close to that.) Sure it's not the best episode ever either, but it has so many elements that remind us why we loved this show in the first place. The out-of-water scenes weren't as bad as many fans were worried about, it's just some randomly crazy addition to an already fun ride. Overall, it's more nostalgic than groundbreaking, I do hope this movie would be the salvation of this show. It won't change anyone's life or anything, we just like Spongebob to be Spongebob again and that's already given too much to a fan like me who grew up with the cartoon.

It's been a decade since the first film, definitely a long wait for the fans. That film was a hit, but I don't know why it took so long for the second. Honestly, I loved this one too, albeit I'm not a die-hard fan, just a supporter. One of the beautiful cartoon universe with unique characters that can entertain all ages. The new addition, especially for this film only, the Antonio Banderas did his part wonderfully. Never seen before stunts in SpongeBob world that comes in the final battle.

Whenever I review an animation movie, I usually bring 2D and 3D animation topics to denote how the technology has transformed. 'Asterix' from France, 'Doraemon' from Japan, and recently America's own 'Mister Peabody' remodelled in 3D and saw tremendous success. So why not SpongeBob, but only for a small portion they have tried and it was awesome. Most importantly the story blended well with the twist in the character reformation.

This movie is in a second batch queue for the Oscar race, that mean a slim chance to get a nominee, but I don't think it will make. That does not mean the movie is bad, it was very good, so entertaining and super funny. Simply not an Oscar material, that's all. If anyone hasn't seen it yet, I absolutely suggest to try it out. I hope it won't take another 10 years for the next movie in the series.

8/10

I was never really into Spongebob as a kid or, stoned out teenager. I was more of a Rocco's modern life guy. When is he coming out with a movie? But you don't need to be a fan of the cartoon before, to love the movie now.

Half 2D animation like the TV show, half live action with Spongebob and his friends done in 3D CGI, Antonio Banderas plays a pirate captain of a ship telling what feels like another episode of Spongebob with Plankton's new attempt on trying to steel the formula for Krabby patties to make the Chum Bucket better. Than to flip the script on us, the pirate captain steels the formula forcing the gang to travel to the surface to get it back.

It's a funny cartoon style comedy. It's been a while since I've seen some slap stick cartoon animation and the sponge delivers squeezing the laughter right out of you (pun). It was a lot of little giggles leading up to a few big laughs. You can't help it. A lot of smart people worked hard to make these guys real stupid.

And I love it when animation goes to the limit with it's story telling. Spongebob had a very surrealistic feel. Just like the cartoon, it was like I was on something but don't need to be to enjoy the fun.

And that was what the cartoon was in a nutshell, fun. Playful for all audiences no matter what the age. Total good time at the movies.

Summary: This movie was so messed up... but I liked it anyway. 70/100 (B-)

Even though it's not even close to the awesomeness of the first movie, still a good movie. The animation was great and the jokes were funny enough. The whole audience was dying of laughter! There were a lot of strange and messed up moments in the movie, there was also a reference to "The Shining" and I was like: What the hell am I seeing? Anyway, this movie is anything but boring. I couldn't take my eyes of the screen, I was so entertained the whole running time. The first SpongeBob movie was already surreal and weird, this one... *sigh* has crossed the line.

The 3D was incredible, well done and eye-popping. There's a great action sequence near the end of the movie with the pirate involved (performed by Antonio Banderas), and it was so damn funny and fast-paced. On the downside, some repetitive jokes become tiresome as the running time goes, the above-water stuff was way too short and well... actually the whole movie was very short to me, I don't know why, this movie should be longer! Again, the whole above-water stuff that you can see in the trailer was actually 20% of the movie, seriously WTF, I wanted more.

I left the theater a bit unsatisfied. I felt like I just watched a movie that's 50 minutes long. Also, another of my issues was the ending, the songs in the ending were unnecessary and a little bit annoying. In addition, another issue was the villain. Antonio Banderas was great, but his character is not very well developed, he was a quite uninteresting villain. Leaving aside its flaws, I noticed one thing, the editing is really well done and even though it has some messed up moments the movie is never confusing because its premise is so short and easy to follow.

The editing makes the whole film more dynamic and easy to understand. So, in conclusion this SpongeBob movie is not even close to the 2004 film, but it has enough visuals and clever gags to satisfy the audience in general. The above-water sequences are so damn enjoyable, the 3D looks fantastic and there are a lot of moments in the movie that are so damn surreal and messed up! Think of an animated version of Interstellar. Also, I don't want to spoil it, but I'm just gonna say that first scene with the dolphin was so strange.

I'm pretty sure that a lot of people will dislike this film, mainly because of the ending, some annoying songs, the strangely uncomfortable moments and the shortness of the film. But to me, it is not a bad movie at all. I highly recommend it, especially if you're fan of the TV show. If you're going to see it, you must see it in 3D and on a huge screen. It is a pretty good spectacle. It is great that the movie took advantage of its 3D format, it looked great. Also, do not forget to see Squidward's dancing in the end credits, it will remind you to the old times. (B-)