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Movie Review - The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Sherm Cohen and Stephen Hillenburg |
| Starring: |
the voices of Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Scarlett Johansson, and Alec Baldwin |
| Rated: |
PG (for some mild crude humor) |
| Length: |
90 minutes |
| Genre: |
Animation/Family |
| Tagline: |
A hero will rise. Thanksgiving 2004 |
| Studio: |
Nickelodeon Movies |
| Website: |
SpongeBob |
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PLOT
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SpongeBob is up for a promotion at work, and the fact that he's convinced he's gonna get it makes him the
happiest little square-panted sponge in the ocean. Plankton, on the other hand, isn't so jovial. His
restaurant, the Chum Bucket, has hit a dry spell thanks to Mr. Krabs' wildly popular Krabby patty.
Plankton decides to steal King Neptune's crown, frame Mr. Krabs, and then steal the Krabby patty
recipe. In an effort to prevent King Neptune from killing Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob and his friend Patrick Star
head off towards Shell City in search of the stolen crown. An underwater adventure of goofy proportions
ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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This is a movie about an animated sponge that wears square cardboard pants. So there you go, you can't
go to the movie and claim you didn't know what kind of humor to expect. It's goofy, it's silly, and it can
be downright strange. But I can't call those negative attributes considering the fact that all of the above
can also be used to describe me at times.
I've never seen the SpongeBob TV show, so I went into the movie without much of an idea of what I was in
for. I must say that while I won't rush out and buy the DVD, I walked away fairly entertained.
Expectedly, a lot of the humor is directed towards children, but there's enough here to keep the
adults snickering. I may be nearing 30, but I'm not ashamed to laugh at a sponge wearing square
whitey tighties! Oh, and for those of us who never cease to mock David Hasselhoff - he has a cameo.
I've gotta give the guy credit - he's very aware that the entire country is laughing *at* him, yet he's
completely willing to join in.
The children at the screening loved the movie, singing along to songs and everything. One of the funniest
things was when Patrick the starfish first appeared on screen and the kids erupted in applause. It
was like watching an episode of Seinfeld when Kramer makes his first appearance of an episode and
the studio audience goes crazy. I briefly thought about booing just for the fun of it, but the thought of
a bunch of tiny little hands pattering me upon my face didn't sound too fun.
But let's go back to the whole "singing along to songs" bit. I think it's only fair to warn parents
that this may start to drive you crazy after the movie. Good luck trying to keep your kid from singing,
"I'm ready, promotion! I'm ready, promotion!" or "I'm a goofy goober, you're a goofy goober, we're all
goofy goobers" over and over and over again. I had to bribe my 9-year-old brother with cold hard cash to
knock it off with the "I'm ready, promotion!" song.
Speaking of my brother, I asked him after the movie which he preferred - SpongeBob or
The Polar Express. To my surprise, he said SpongeBob because it was
"funnier." I suppose this is a lesson that children aren't quite as impressed with fancy animation
as adults are.
But he's right, SpongeBob is a funny movie in it's own quirky, original way. I'm not dying to see it
again, and I don't think I'll be glued to the TV set every time it's on, but I enjoyed it, and I'm not
gonna waste my time or yours by picking apart what I didn't like. The target audience should be
pleased with the end result, so mission accomplished.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Characters from Rocko's Modern Life have cameos in the movie.
- Johnny's never heard of Rocko's Modern Life.
- David Hasselhoff was in NightMan with Michael Woods who was in Private Eye with Josh
Brolin who was in The Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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This is pretty harmless stuff for the most part. I was a little surprised at some of the "adult" humor
thrown into the proceedings (including a silhouette shower scene). Plus, we see multiple shots of
cartoon characters in their underwear, and we even see a couple of cartoon butts played for silly laughs.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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What you see is what you get. If you've never seen the show, then the trailer could leave you scratching
your head. The movie might do the same thing!
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THE GIST
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If you're a fan of the TV show, then you should definitely get a kick out of The SpongeBob SquarePants
Movie. This movie isn't exactly for everybody though. If you've never heard of SpongeBob, then there's
quite a bit here that may humor you. But if you hate all things silly, goofy, and immature, then this
isn't for you.
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