Generally speaking I've not been a big fan of the eleven-minute version of Spongebob Squarepants. I've seen episodes I like, and episodes I simply didn't see the point of. I know loads of people who love it and loads of people who, like me, simply do not see what the fuss is all about. It's a kids TV show featuring some ridiculous undersea creatures with astonishingly annoying voices. What's the big deal? Well if there was ever a movie you should watch to make you rethink your opinion of the TV show it is based off, this is it. It's not brilliant by any stretch of the imagination but it succesfully treads the thin line between kids and adults, managing to entertain them both. Hillenburg's peculiar sense of humour, matched with Kenny and Fagerbakke's vocal chemistry as Spongebob and his best friend Patrick, combine neatly to produe a movie which, though at times dangerously obvious, mostly comes out as an entertaining jaunt through the undersea world of Bikini Bottom and beyond.
The movie version does a good job of showing itself to be more than just a longer episode through it's stylish use of real-life footage (featuring a Baywatch-era David Hasslehoff for instance) spliced with cartoon animation, and a roadtrip plot which takes us far outside Bikini Bottom into menacing Shell City. When Spongebob is turned down for the promotion he believes is rightfully his, due to Mr Krabs believing him to be too immature, he falls into an ice-cream fuelled depression. With arch-nemesis Plankton stealing King Neptune's crown and pinning the blame on Mr Krabs, Spongebob risks everything to retrieve said crown from Shell City (and the monstrous cyclops) before Neptune obliterates the unfortunate Mr Krabs. While he is away Plankton makes double-sure of his victory by stealing the secret to Krabs' Krabby Patty and enslaving the population of Bikini Bottom with nefarious, er, buckets.
The quirky sense of humour occasionally apparent in the TV show is far more noticeable here, presumably due to a longer writing period and better brainstorming from writer/director Hillenburg. The scene where Spongebob and Patrick get wasted on ice cream is an hilarious parody of real drinking, and the after-effects are equally amusing (Spongebob hungover, with a 5 o'clock shadow and purple eyes, and no memory of the previous nights events). The roadtrip, though done to death (then resurrected and killed again), also shows moments of originality, the movie's tightrope walking of the line between adult and kid humour being a great benefit. Though I can't say it's the best thing I've ever seen there's enough quick wit here to keep most people watching. |
