Movie Review #217: "The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water" (2015)

Movie: "The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water"
Ticket Price: $12.50
Director: Paul Tibbitt
Rating: PG
Running Time: 1 hour, 33 minutes

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A pirate named Burger Beard (Antonio Banderas) has found a magic book that can alter reality and uses it to steal the secret Krabby Patty formula. This drives Bikini Bottom into anarchy as they dawn post-apocalyptic gear. The critters of Bikini Bottom blame the villainous Plankton (Mr. Lawrence) for the theft, but Spongebob (Tom Kenny) knows Plankton is innocent. When he defends him, Spongebob is accused of being Plankton's accomplice. Spongebob and Plankton build a time machine to try and get the formula back, eventually discovering that the formula has been taken to the surface. Spongebob, Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke), Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown), Sandy (Carolyn Lawrence), Squidward (Rodger Bumpass) and Plankton must go to the surface with the help of Bubbles the Dolphin (Matt Berry) and battle Burger Beard in order to get back the secret formula. 

We have been much more lenient about seeing cartoons and animated movies lately in an effort to be more all-encompassing. We have also been known to enjoy "Spongebob Squarepants" on occasion on a weekend when flipping through the boob tube, so we were actually pretty excited to see this movie! When you go into a "Spongebob" film, you pretty much know what to expect, especially if you've seen the show, and that is a lot of random and silly comedy that is meant for kids, but is sprinkled with tidbits for adults, too. Now, we will say that the trailer for this movie is slightly misleading as it looks like the film is primarily done in a computer animation style with more of a 3D rendering of our favorite Bikini Bottom characters. In reality, the 3D-esque portion only takes place during the last quarter of the movie, leaving the vast majority to be filled with the standard Spongebob animation style. In actuality, most of the flick is one big extended episode of the TV show. It isn't so childish that parents will hate it, as it parodies some post-apocalyptic films like "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior" and has some jokes certainly have double entendres that will whiz right by kids' heads. Besides, Spongebob has been on the air for about 16 years now and people who grew up watching Spongebob are now well into their 20's, not to mention the appeal the show has always had for the college stoner crowd. Like we mentioned above, you know what you're going to get. This movie definitely has some of those moments that seem like a crazy drug trip, primarily in the time travel sequences and those featuring Bubbles the Dolphin, which we must admit, made us laugh a lot harder than we'd like to admit. Though it has a crazy, all over the place plot, "Sponge Out of Water" really does bring the LOLs, and that's what's important. Unlike most cartoons, though, this movie doesn't have much heart to it, which is okay since not every movie has to contain touching moments, but it's just something we noticed. It's pretty safe to say that if you have ever enjoyed the show, you will probably enjoy the movie. If you make sure to hit up your local 'shroom dealer before you enter the theater, you're almost guaranteed to have fun.

My Rating: 7.5/10
BigJ's Rating: 7.5/10
IMDB's Rating: 7.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 75%
Do we recommend this movie: Sure, why not?