CINEMA

PROPERTY OF PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Movie Review

CASUAL

Published: 08.23.20

MPAA: PG

Genre: Animation. Adventure. Comedy.

Hilarious And Quite Well Written...

RELEASE: 08.14.20

The Spongebob Movie: Sponge On The Run (2020)

OPENING THOUGHTS:

Trailers for SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run has been playing at my work since February. Seeing the trailer on a loop, I didn’t think I would enjoy this film. It looked like a strange animation choice and a lazy story. However, I was incredibly surprised and now ashamed of my hard opinion, because this movie was hilarious and quite well written, with perfectly timed jokes and heartfelt moments.

DIRECTION:

The film direction was solid. Taking techniques from the show and previous films, they created something that felt right in the Spongebob universe while simultaneously feeling very new. Expanding on Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob has to go to The Lost City of Atlantic City (I believe) and save his pet snail, Gary. We get some really fun new characters and storylines for SpongeBob. The scene with our first introduction to Sage was super impressive. I thought the costuming, casting, and music all worked so well.

PLOT:

The plot was creative! I had a hell of a time watching, as it really brought me back to being a kid. As I mentioned above, the first introduction to Sage was brilliant writing. I loved the cowboy bar and that Patrick and SpongeBob consistently rise above and beat evil - unintentionally. It seems like a joke that will get old, but it continues to stay fresh and creative. The Lost City of Atlantic City plotline was great. It felt very fitting for the SpongeBob universe.

ACTING | CHARACTERS | DIALOGUE:

Super pleased that by the end of this film we finally get to figure out how everyone met. I thought that while it was a bit cheesy, it fit for this kid world. And my inner kid cried a little finally knowing and seeing their first introductions to each other. So wholesome. The cast was all the originals, and they did wonderful. Especially Roger Bumpass; I love Squidward.

VISUAL EFFECTS | MAKEUP | DESIGN:

The cowboy scene (mentioned in the plot) involves a mix of live action and animation with SpongeBob and Patrick in animated form. I was blown away by this scene; it was just funny, it looked realistic without going too far for the SpongeBob universe, and it had wonderful special effects. It was also very age appropriate, as the makeup and whatnot for the characters in that live action scene stayed safe.

MUSIC | SCORE | SOUND DESIGN:

The music/score in this film was pretty straightforward for the majority of it - stay positive and upbeat. After all, it is a kids film. But what got me was the songs they did at the end of the film - they remixed the SpongeBob Squarepants theme song. And it was wonderful, it took me right back to my childhood. I was, once again, super impressed with this department.

CLOSING THOUGHTS:

I think this is the first time I gave an all full popcorn review, but this film was really great to me. Funny, solid storyline, and it didn’t run the same as a lot of other films do - where the best friends split up and whatnot. The film stayed super positive and funny, despite still having some sad elements. I enjoyed watching this and found myself laughing way more than I expected to. If you watched any SpongeBob as a child, I would very much recommend this!