Overall Rating
  Awesome: 20.25%
Worth A Look: 45.57%
Average: 24.05%
Pretty Bad: 3.8%
Total Crap: 6.33%
6 reviews, 43 user ratings
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| SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, The |
by Natasha Theobald
"Wild and wacky Spongebob fun!"
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Every time I hear it. "Are you ready kids?" Every time I think, "I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready!" If you don't have any clue what I am talking about, then you are missing out of one of the great, insane, hilarious cartoons out there right now. Not having kids and not having Nickelodeon is no excuse. Spongebob is available on DVD, and "The Spongebob Squarepants Movie" has just hit a theater near you. Are you ready?The movie starts off with some usual Spongebob shenanigans and many laughs. We learn that a second Krusty Krab is being opened right next door to the first, and Spongebob is hoping to be named its manager. Plankton, though, insane with jealousy, has yet another plan to steal the formula for making Krabby Patties and the business right out from under Mr. Krabs. Thus, we meet King Neptune, a ruler with a bit of a bald spot, which he likes to cover with his legitimacy-bearing crown. When his crown goes missing, all evidence points to the guilt of Mr. Krabs, just as Plankton intended, and it is up to Spongebob Squarepants and Patrick Star to save the boss and the day. Can they do it?
The makers of Spongebob are sly and witty characters, it seems to me. This first foray onto movie screens gives the audience exactly what they might expect from their favorite show, and then they go and give so much more. Somewhere along the line, the journey of Spongebob and Patrick takes a kooky, bizarre turn, and the last third of the movie is odd and weird and completely enthralling. I'm sitting in a kiddie cartoon thinking of the movie "Tommy" for no discernible reason. How's that for weird? Astute viewers of the regular show are used to the occasional twist or turn, but I hardly thought I would leave the theater with an almost intimate knowledge of David Hasselhoff's body hair. That sort of thing tends to stick out in the mind for a day or two, you know.
The only weakness of the movie I would point out is created by the relatively small roles of Spongebob regulars from Sandy Cheeks to Squidward, and on down the line. While it's true that Spongebob and Patrick are the heart of the show, and the premise of the film gives the most time to their quest, it would have been nice to see a little more with other beloved characters from regular episodes. The gap is filled with new characters from King Neptune and his daughter Mindy to a badass biker dude named Dennis. The new characters are all voiced by really famous people, as are many of the regular characters, in fact, but I won't ruin the fun of guessing for those who like to do so.This, the first Spongebob feature, was a wild ride indeed. It left me satisfied and wanting more, if that's possible. That is to say, I liked it, and it made me really curious as to what they might come up with next. Here's hoping the creative minds behind life in Bikini Bottom continue to never disappoint.
 del.icio.us 
link directly to this review at http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=11159&reviewer=317
originally posted: 11/21/04 08:06:39
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USA
19-Nov-2004 (PG)
DVD: 01-Mar-2005
UK
N/A
Australia
06-Jan-2005
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