The Spongebob Movie: Sponge out of Water

Soaks up the competition... there is your pun

Plankton is back to his old tricks again when he makes a last ditch effort to steal the Crabby Patty secret formula. An intense battle ensues ending with the Crabby Patty formula vanishing into thin air, and the Bikini Bottom apocalypse starting. A rouge on the land is responsible for the town's troubles, named Burger Beard (Antonio Banderas). It is up to the team of Spongebob, Patrick, Squidward, Sandy, and Mr. Krabs to get the formula from their new foe and set Bikini Bottom back in order.

You have to give some respect to Spongebob Squarepants, for paying homage to the old vanguard of cartoons while trying to adapt to the new wave coming through the Cartoon channels. Of course every age group has there most memorable hits, but Spongebob has the privilege of being mixed into a cultural shift so two generations can appreciate it. For baby boomers it was Looney Tunes; Gen X it was Transformers, He-Man and G.I. Joe; for my generation it was Rugrats, Johnny Bravo, and Rocket Power; and the current generation has Adventure Time; however, a good cartoon is a good cartoon, and Spongebob Squarepants used to be SO GOOD. Not that it is bad now, but it has definitely lost some of the edge that made it appeal to multiple generations. This movie is a vast improvement on what became of the television show; although, it does have some of the same deficiencies that drove off so many viewers.

The story here is your basic Spongebob story guys, there is nothing that is going to blow your mind like The Lego Movie, it is pretty much all just par for the course. The real gem hear is in the comedy. There are more than a few times that laughed so hard that my stomach hurt, and I never felt ashamed (even if I was the only person in the theater, so what). Some jokes reached you on the childish level, some hit you as an adult, some were just so bizarre that they made you laugh. Okay, not every joke hit its mark like it was supposed to, but it gave the old college try, despite not knowing how to relate to the current generation, and making some pretty cringe worthy comedy. Seeing the town of Bikini Bottom go through a Mad Max style apocalypse tickled me in a way few shows do these days.

When I say TV show, that is exactly what I mean, this fell into the trap of most TV Show movies by feeling like "just a longer episode of the show." Is that a bad thing? Not really, I tend to not let it hinder my viewing experience, but if it is a problem for you, be warned. I do love how the production quality on this movie didn't make any sacrifices. Although the writing gives it the television feel, the animation makes you remember that you are in a movie. I try not to give movies extra points for effect, but it is hard not to notice the detail they went into trying to make the Spongebob cast come into the real world. It isn't like they put real squids and starfish on the screen, but they did give these guys some much needed texture love, and it looks beautiful.

The voice acting cast is just how they have always been, absolutely brilliant, and if you don't believe that just stop watching cartoons. Sure, the one song that came from this movie (surprising I know), wasn't their best work, but I can't blame Tom Kenny for that. The real weight of the movie fell on the new guy they threw into the mojo, Antonio Banderas. I guess the casting person for this movie saw a couple of Banderas films and made the perfect choice, because Banderas' natural animated acting flows brilliantly with the surrounding chaos. He just makes it seem effortless, and gets lost so far into his role that you can't tell if he is acting or just plain nuts. It seems that he respects the source material and loves the atmosphere, so I have to give him some credit; but, so I'm not accused of making this all about the "live action talent" let me digress. Tom Kenny is a voice God, Bill Fagerbakk has always and will always hold a special place in my heart for his crazy skill, Douglas Lawrence Osowski (Mr. Lawrence) puts every bit of effort into plankton. Satisfied? I love voice actors. You know that, I know that, I don't need to beat you over the head with it.

Final Verdict: Rent it It ain't perfect, but that'll do Nickelodeon. If you have a child that is begging you to see the new Spongebob movie, you don't need to fear, this is a good movie.