A Review by Phil Calabro
2004, Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon Movies, Dir. Stephen Hillenburg - Starring the voice talents of Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Doug Lawrence, Jeffery Tambor, Scarlett Johannson, Alec Baldwin, Clancy Brown, Carolyn Lawrence
If there's one children's show available today that can still attract me, it's got to be Spongebob Squarepants. Although i'm no die-hard fan, the show is very surrealistic and cynical for their projected audiences. It makes the kids chuckle at the intense silliness of the main characters, and makes people like me crack up at the occasional undertones about social culture every now and then. It's not made to create a brisk or coherent storyline, instead it swerves in and out of crazy situations like an underwater 'Road Trip'. Of course, the characters tend to get on my nerves sometimes, but that's mostly because they're tampered to entertain the kiddies - but when viewed from the big picture, 'The Spongebob Squarepants Movie' is a film too clever for its own good.
The film begins with Spongebob (Kenny) waking up on the "most important day of his life": the day he may be promoted as manager of the new 'Krusty Krab 2' restaurant (which is, if you're curious, right next to the original Krusty Krab...a great dig at the Starbucks gag). Having convinced himself that he has secured the job, he becomes incredibly disappointed when he finds out he didn't make it - so he and friend Patrick (Fagerbakke) go eat some hallucinatory ice cream to pass the time. Meanwhile, the evil Plankton (Lawrence) has a new evil plan to steal the Krabby Patty recipe - to steal the crown of King Neptune (Tambor) and put the blame on Krabby Patty boss Mr. Krabs (Brown) - therefore killing him and taking over their empire. But Spongebob comes to the rescue and offers to find Neptune's crown himself - setting him out on a six-day road trip with Patrick to the most dangerous place in the sea: Shell City, which is guarded by a huge Cyclops. During this, Patrick falls in love with Neptune's daughter Mindy (Johannson), they have a bubble party, and are being followed by Plankton's hitman Dennis (Baldwin).
The characters themselves, as bothersome as they can be at times, are loveable. Our hero Spongebob has the most painstaking high-pitched giggle that drives you nuts, but sometimes the concept is used sarcastically for a few good laughs. Spongebob is very chummy, very obnoxious, but developed enough to make him a household brand - everybody knows him like a movie star now, so it's no surprise that he's gotten his own movie. The best star by far is Patrick, done by the talented Bill Fagerbakke. His excessive stupidity will easily get the biggest laughs in the film. Whether he's running around naked (a joke featured in the trailer, which is just as effective in the film), acting like an idiot, or making no sense of anything, Patrick Star is probably one of the best cartoon sidekicks in history. The character of Plankton is humorous, but his effect is limited. There's only a few short jokes you can make before spoiling the idea. The other characters, such as Neptune and his daughter Mindy, are short but are funny nonetheless (a running joke about Neptune's baldness is a prime example of director Hillenburg's wild sense of humor). And David Hasselhoff, in my humble opinion, should be given Cameo-Man Award of the Year, for his spontaneous yet hilarious screentime.
Mind you, this is a Nickelodeon film, so adults who think they're paying for a scatological-humor-free film should beware. You'll have the same silly notions that Nick's old and overrated cartoon 'Ren and Stimpy' had, but toned down. It's not as witty as Shrek 2 or Shark Tale has been this year, but it has a certain weird sting that will leave you wondering whether you started watching a blend of Yellow Submarine and The Simpsons. And for parents, the film won't leave your kid saying foul words, since Hillenburg (who both wrote and directed) cleaned this one up without tarnishing the insanity.
Although you could get the same entertainment from the television show, 'Spongebob' is bound to be enjoyed by both adults and children alike. It has a great imagination, and so much randomness that will fly over the kids head's and still make them laugh. Now sing along with me, "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea...."
