THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER
DIRECTOR: Paul Tibbit
CAST: Antonio Banderas, Frankie Muniz, Thomas F Wilson
VOICE CAST: Tom Kenny, Clancy Brown, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Mr Lawrence
CLASSIFICATION: PG V
RUNNING TIME: 93 minutes
RATING: 3 stars (out of 5)
Theresa Smith
SPONGEBOB Squarepants and the denizens of Bikini Bottom go weirdly mainstream in this second film about the sponge that lives in a pineapple under the sea.
While more than a half of the storyline stays animated and below the waterline, when the characters emerge out of the sea into live-action they lose their surreal edge. The team-up of suddenly superhero characters holds no surprises for anyone who’s seen Big Hero Six.
Antonio Banderas is Burger-beard, the narrator and furtherer of plot in more ways than one. He starts telling the story in suitably OTT pirate fashion. No one can do this without being accused of stealing the moves from Captain Sparrow, aka Johnny Depp, but Banderas makes a suitable substitute for what eventually becomes Painty the Pirate.
The action homes in on SpongeBob (voiced by Kenny) very soon though and mostly stays with him. Someone steals the secret recipe to Krabby Patties and it is up to SpongeBob to figure out who. While everyone else in Bikini Bottom loses their minds, Mad Max 2 bondage leather style, SpongeBob enlists the help of Plankton (Mr Lawrence) to track down the recipe.
Though it is aimed at the little ones with its emphasis on bad word puns, poop jokes and slapstick humour, there are some moments which only the adults will catch, like the way the soundtrack uses riffs from specific movies, depending on what is happening on the screen.
Other than SpongeBob staying a true friend who never has anything bad to say about anyone, there is no aim to the film, except of course the retrieval of the recipe, or big moral lesson to be learnt a la Disney features.
SpongeBob meanders his way around the bottom of the ocean and some other places, making very little sense, but inspiring the groans of a quietly giggling audience. The rap battle over the end credits is worth waiting for, but that is more due to the skills of the rappers than anything about the film.
People who love the tv series do so for the silly details, hilarious villains, the awesome cameos and the way Patrick shows that ignorance can be bliss.
As long as we get that, it is fine. But when it tries to become real the film is set adrift on a sea of boring, rather than the more welcome ingenious nonsense we have come to expect.
If you liked The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie you will like this.
WIN! WIN! WIN!
To celebrate the release of the SpongeBob Squarepants movie, we are giving five lucky readers the chance to win a SpongeBob hamper. Each hamper consists of a T-shirt; cap; phone stand; cable tie and wristband, all sporting the Spongebob title treatment. To stand a chance of winning, all you have to do is answer this answer this very simple question:
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
Send your answer, as well as your name and contact details, to [email protected]. Please put Spongebob Competition in the subject field. The competition closes on Wednesday, February 11, at midnight. Only the winners will be contacted.