Soggy Family Fare
There is little reason to see The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie, an absolutely banal movie which is an expanded version of the Nickelodeon TV show of the same name.
The plot concerns the latest evil plan hatched by Plankton (voiced by Doug Lawrence) to take over the aptly named underwater community of Bikini Bottom, which involves stealing King Neptune's (Jeffery Tambor) crown in an effort to acquire the secret formula for Mr. Krabs' (Clancy Brown) hamburger recipe—the key to underworld domination. Standing in Plankton's way is anthropomorphic sponge SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) and his moronic starfish buddy Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke), who are discouraged from any attempt to recover the crown because they are kids. The bumbling idiots go on their quest to prove their manhood.
Supposedly, the appeal of the TV show is its running gags about SpongeBob's work as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab and his inability to get a driver's license. These elements are there as are several satirical swipes at everything from the fast-food industry to Baywatch, but the jokes are few and far between and will produce, at most, a mild chuckle from adults.
But SpongeBob's demographic are not the tall people in the audience, it's the little ones, and, judging by the reaction of the target audience at a recent press screening, there is little to appeal to kids as well.
The fundamental problem may lie in the fact that the movie, at 90 minutes, is too long to sustain the antics of the stupid sponge and his goofball friends. There are some cute sight gags—instead of brushing his teeth, SpongeBob brushes is eyes, and the mixture of live action and animation is amusing in a surreal way—and a couple of somewhat hummable songs, "Goofy Goober Song" and "Now that We're Men." But spiffy animation and catchy tunes do not a classic make.
SpongeBob might work in 30-minute doses. In a big screen adventure, he just doesn't cut it. His inept behavior makes him rather boring, and the script by Derek Drymon, Tim Hill, Stephen Hillenburg (who also directed), Ken Osborne, Aaron Springer, and Paul Tibbett has our two leading characters stumble out of danger at every turn. There is no thought or direction for this pair of dolts, who make Homer Simpson look like Einstein, just the convenient deus ex machina that gets them out of every mess with no effort on their part, undercutting the purpose of the quest to turn the two simpletons into "men." They become slightly less annoying adolescents instead.
If there was any charm, grace or humor connected with the proceedings, then the weak plot, annoying characters, and forgettable songs would be excusable. But there is no excuse for this mess, which will appeal only to the biggest fans of the show.
The plot concerns the latest evil plan hatched by Plankton (voiced by Doug Lawrence) to take over the aptly named underwater community of Bikini Bottom, which involves stealing King Neptune's (Jeffery Tambor) crown in an effort to acquire the secret formula for Mr. Krabs' (Clancy Brown) hamburger recipe—the key to underworld domination. Standing in Plankton's way is anthropomorphic sponge SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) and his moronic starfish buddy Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke), who are discouraged from any attempt to recover the crown because they are kids. The bumbling idiots go on their quest to prove their manhood.
Supposedly, the appeal of the TV show is its running gags about SpongeBob's work as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab and his inability to get a driver's license. These elements are there as are several satirical swipes at everything from the fast-food industry to Baywatch, but the jokes are few and far between and will produce, at most, a mild chuckle from adults.
But SpongeBob's demographic are not the tall people in the audience, it's the little ones, and, judging by the reaction of the target audience at a recent press screening, there is little to appeal to kids as well.
The fundamental problem may lie in the fact that the movie, at 90 minutes, is too long to sustain the antics of the stupid sponge and his goofball friends. There are some cute sight gags—instead of brushing his teeth, SpongeBob brushes is eyes, and the mixture of live action and animation is amusing in a surreal way—and a couple of somewhat hummable songs, "Goofy Goober Song" and "Now that We're Men." But spiffy animation and catchy tunes do not a classic make.
SpongeBob might work in 30-minute doses. In a big screen adventure, he just doesn't cut it. His inept behavior makes him rather boring, and the script by Derek Drymon, Tim Hill, Stephen Hillenburg (who also directed), Ken Osborne, Aaron Springer, and Paul Tibbett has our two leading characters stumble out of danger at every turn. There is no thought or direction for this pair of dolts, who make Homer Simpson look like Einstein, just the convenient deus ex machina that gets them out of every mess with no effort on their part, undercutting the purpose of the quest to turn the two simpletons into "men." They become slightly less annoying adolescents instead.
If there was any charm, grace or humor connected with the proceedings, then the weak plot, annoying characters, and forgettable songs would be excusable. But there is no excuse for this mess, which will appeal only to the biggest fans of the show.
