The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water

Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob Antonio Banderas and Patrick in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water

There is truly little to write about The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. If you like the cartoon or liked it when you were younger, you will most likely enjoy this big screen adventure. Almost all of the show’s characters are here, although Mrs. Puff barely even gets a cameo and Pearl is nowhere to be seen.

Yeah, I have watched many episodes with my sons when they were growing up. SpongeBob premiered in 1999 yet he retains his childlike innocence and eternal optimism. He loves his job as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab and eagerly hurries there every day, even though his boss, Mr. Krabs, is a penny pinching miser. His best friend, Patrick, is as dumb as the rock he sleeps under, or perhaps dumber. SpongeBob’s neighbor and co-worker, Squidward, is not so happy with his life and is constantly annoyed by SpongeBob’s sunny disposition.

Across the street from the Krusty Krab is the Chum Bucket restaurant owned by Mr. Krabs’ rival, Plankton. The Chum Bucket is not as successful as the Krusty Krab as the food matches the restaurant’s name. Plankton is constantly trying to steal Mr. Krabs’ secret formula for his Krabby patties. The film begins with Plankton waging and all-out assault on the Krusty Krab with SpongeBob and Patrick dressed like World War I soldiers, complete with trenches and barbed wire, defending it.

My favorite moment comes later when Mr. Krabs catches Plankton red handed trying to steal the formula from his safe. As SpongeBob stands next to them, Krabs tapes Plankton to his desk and tells a bad joke. Plankton does not understand what that was supposed to accomplish as Krabs puts on some ear muffs. Slowly SpongeBob starts to get the joke and begins laughing and laughing and laughing. Plankton immediately responds in horror, “Oooooooooowwwwwww! Oh, make it stop, Krabs! Make it stop!”

Also interested in the formula is a Pirate in the real world. He gets his hands on the formula and opens his own food truck on a beach. The loss of the formula, for some reason, turns Bikini Bottom into chaos that resembles the world of Mad Max. To save their town, the population of Bikini Bottom follows the formula until they near the surface, where one fish announces, “Alright, all secondary characters, come with me.” They do an about face, leaving only SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Sandy, Mr. Krabs and Plankton to enter the strange world of humans sunbathing and eating ice cream.

Our heroes get superpowers and costumes to do battle with the pirate. Most of their superpowers are silly but what else would you expect from this group. This provides for plenty of humor, much of which was shown in the trailer. In fact, the previews made it seem as if most of the film was in the real world where it is actually maybe half of the film. I was hoping for a last minute appearance by the underwater superhero duo Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy but they, apparently, stayed in their retirement home.

What I liked most about this movie is that my sons, who are now legal adults, both laughed during this film. SpongeBob is to them what the original “Scooby Doo” and the “Super Friends” are to my brothers and I. As we watched this at a late showing, there were no kids in the theater but my grown children enjoyed it well enough. Again, if you are a fan of the Nickelodeon television show, you will be a fan of this movie. It will however, not create any new fans.