Who knew way back when that Nickelodeon had a hit on its hands when it debuted a series about a yellow sea sponge named Spongebob who lives under the sea in a pineapple. I mean…does not sound like a hit, does it?!? And yet it has been for a couple of decades. So much so that the series has spawned a couple of feature length films.
Part live-action, part computer-animated, this 2020 release signalled the yellow sponge’s, who always wears shorts and tube socks, return to the big screen. This is the third Spongebob feature length film and the first in five years. It features plenty of its roots behind the scenes including original series developer and writer, Tim Hill as co-writer and director. We also get most of the original voice cast here as well.
Though it does bring something new with its arrival in that it is the first time the animation has been done in CGI rather than two dimensional. So it seems like all the characters and scenery pop just that much more.
As far as the story goes, it is a flashback to how Spongebob (voiced by Tom Kenny) met his beloved pet snail, Gary (voiced by Tom Kenny). So cute to see the younger version of both of them! Then we spring forward to the present as Spongebob is in a state as Gary has been kidnapped. It is up to the distraught yellow sponge and his pals Patrick (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke) and Sandy (voiced by Carolyn Lawrence) and newcomer Sage (voiced by Keanu Reeves) to save Gary.
The co-production by Paramount Picture and Nickelodeon Movies is an average type film. Not up to the standards of the great films of Disney or Pixar, but it certainly isn’t going to drive you up the wall either.
If you are a fan you are going to enjoy it as it relies on the typical tropes of the series like inside jokes, celebrity cameos (besides Keanu Reeves you get Awkwafina, Reggie Watts and Matt Berry) and the usual amount of crazy, zany humour.
Special Features:
-Mini-movie
-Deleted Storyboard Scenes
-Sing-along Music Videos
-Digital Copy
