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The world’s most famous sea sponge gets a tasteful makeover in a new film that stays true to the sweetly insane nature of its franchise.
The world’s most popular sea sponge for the past 20 consecutive years, the ever-optimistic SpongeBob SquarePants is back, spongier than ever, and eager to give us a brief, but joyful, respite from the collective temper. of the last 12 months. Not that the osmotic optimist ever really moved away; Some time has passed since SpongeBob’s previous feature-length adventure, but the Nickelodeon show that made him an icon among kids and stoners is still going strong despite the death of creator Stephen Hillenburg in 2018.
Yet two decades is a long time in spongy years, and even the basal metazoa that live in pineapples under the sea and earn billions of dollars in licensing deals for their parent companies are not immune to pressures from the sea. ‘a shallow industry that just cares. about what is above the surface. In other words, SpongeBob did “work”. And he is not alone. In fact, every creature (and building!) In the benthic town of Bikini Bottom has received the same expensive procedure: a full-body 3D oplasty.
Still, it must be said that the characters who came out the other side in one piece have never looked so good. A little plastic perhaps, but in a tactile and ultra-expressive way that owes more to the aesthetics of the living toy from “The LEGO Movie” than to the macabre “screw the kids, serve the shareholders” of something like “Scoob!”.
It helps that “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” evens out its newfound brilliance by staying true to the spirit of the franchise, as writer / director Tim Hill (“The War with Grandpa”) soaks up a exuberant but generally deranged adventure that prepares a wacky mess of marine trash into something that vaguely resembles a story; for better or for worse, “SpongeBob” followers will feel right at home. Style aside, it’s a powerful familiar trick for a movie that begins with an explanation of Poseidon’s skin-care routine, ends with an underwater karaoke contest, and stops in the middle for a second arrest act involving Danny Trejo as a flesh-eating cowboy pirate. zombie.
As impressive as it is that these characters still haven’t been wrung out, there’s no denying that some of the jokes are waterlogged with the same kind of “does it really matter?” the energy that older fans might recognize from the past 20 seasons of “The Simpsons”. But comfort food always tastes better when it’s not secretly looking for a Michelin star. “Sponge on the Run” sprints too fast to dwell on when he’s gasping for air, and the crazy science Hillenburg first experienced on “Rocko’s Modern Life” still taps into a textured palette of craziness. sweet that you can’t help but keep watching. Also – and this is very important – a live-action Keanu Reeves plays a tumbleweed sage named Sage who shows up to offer pearls of spiritual guidance to SpongeBob and his friend Patrick whenever they have the most. need. It doesn’t matter whether this movie premieres on Paramount +, it’s obviously cinema with a capital “C”.
But don’t be fooled by its title or its tiny handful of celebrities – “Sponge on the Run” belongs to a character above all the others, and that character is Gary the Snail (of which adorable gibberish is provided). by SpongeBob voice actor Tom Kenny). For those who don’t know or remember, Gary is SpongeBob’s longtime pet snail, and he absolutely reigns. The Blobby of Bikini Bottom, Gary has two giant eyes sticking out of his slimy body, and he tends to be a little smelly every now and then, but the trail of mucus he leaves behind isn’t the only thing his. topic. stay with you. When Gary gets a nap from Poseidon (Matt Berry) because the vain sea god is running out of the slime he needs for his skincare regimen, there’s no chance SpongeBob will find another mollusk. to mend the hole in his heart. . “Friends don’t let friends become someone else’s face cream.” A valuable lesson for any family film.
Buckle up for a road trip through the lost kingdom of Atlantic City, filled with casinos! Of course, it won’t be that simple. One problem is that neither SpongeBob nor his travel buddy Patrick’s Samwise Gamgee (Bill Fagerbakke) have access to a car, and they might be a little too quick to accept a ride from the maniac Plankton (Mr. Lawrence), who has always had an ulterior motive of one kind or another. Its vile, piecemeal storylines are always delightful, and this one involves a hyper-capitalist killer robot named Otto (Awkwafina, funny in an underwritten role) volunteering to lead our heroes to Atlantic City. The wayward journey to save Gary from the clutches of Poseidon and his unamused right-handed fish (Reggie Watts) is defined by his detours, but the die-hard “SpongeBob” might feel cheated if they weren’t. treated with terrestrial live action footage. , a “Livin ‘la Vida Loca” montage that has its obsolete character, and a breathtaking saxophone performance by the great Kelpy G.
None of these gags rise above sea level or even really try to do so, because “Sponge on the Run” is all about maintaining a manic simmering of laughter-worthy energy so no one notices. how awkwardly he uses flashbacks to kick off a new prequel series on Paramount +. But they all help keep things going until the characters reach Atlantic City just in time for the movie to suffer a sugar crash. Even the weakest get by on good vibes and meta-intelligence (Reeves has become something of a human meme in recent years, but “Sponge on the Run” treats the actor’s mark for a number of solid laughs. ), and the animation is detailed and inventive enough to make the entire film feel imbued with the insane energy of SpongeBob.
And of course, there’s always Gary. Whenever Gary is not on screen, audiences can’t help but wonder, “Where’s Gary?” And when Gary shows up, you wonder how you ever survived without him. Subscribe to Paramount + and you’ll never have to remember it again. If that’s not a winning strategy to launch a new multi-billion dollar streaming platform in a crowded space cannibalizing itself in utero at the expense of sustainable content distribution, then what is it? is?
Category B-
“The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” will be available to stream on Paramount + starting Thursday, March 4.
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