Theres a reason that the animated television series Spongebob Squarepants has such a rabid following not just among the pre-teen set, but also among college kids and adults. Its funny with pitch-perfect timing and a self-conscious sense of its own absurdity. Those in the single-digits age-wise can enjoy the general goofiness of Spongebob and his pals in Bikini Bottom, but for adults, the franchise smacks some surprisingly sophisticated wit into its take on the usual mass-produced, lifeless piffle that populates Saturday morning cartoons. Spongebob is hip.
For those not in the know, Spongebob is a, well, sponge, large, yellow and sporting cardboard trousers that fit his rectangular proportions. Hence the surname, and, as the theme song reminds us, he lives in a pineapple under the sea. As the film begins, our hero is anticipating a promotion to manager at the new second location of his place of employment, the Krusty Krab II, home of the Krabby patty, owned by Eugene H. Krabs, a slave to capitalism whose most frequent verbalization is money. Alas, things dont go as planned, leading to an ice-cream bender at the Goofy Goober, and an adventure of a lifetime retrieving Neptunes crown thanks to Krabs would-be rival, Plankton, owner of the dingy and woefully underpatronized competition, the Chum Bucket. This tiny creature, seething with jumbo resentments has finally made it to plan Z, his most evil, and lemon-scented, scheme to destroy his competition and rule the world. In that order. The results are a quest by Spongebob and his faithful, if puffy, starfish companion, Patrick that will lead them into great danger and that most challenging terrain of all, dry land.
In a brave new world of animation technology that reaches for ever more dazzling effects, the animation THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE is more cute than cutting edge. The focus here is on the clever delivery of a fun story that entertains pretty much any age group. Spongebob and Patrick are deliciously clueless, endlessly falling prey to unbridled optimism and ice cream at every turn, not to mention their uncanny ability to be endlessly amused by very little. Their bubble dance halfway through the film is a paean to unfettered goofiness that can be read as ironic or joyful depending on your age, experience, and general world view. Lines such as Too bad Spongebob cant be here to enjoy Spongebob not being here is a Zen Koan AND a joke without violating either premise. If the pithy, mostly good-natured tweaking of clichés, social conventions, and pop culture flies over the head of some, it just doesnt matter. There is something about Spongebob and company giving way to torrents of emotion and absurd non-sequiturs that is completely irresistible.
The menace of a deep, deep, deep-sea trench populated by a variety of eerie creatures, plus the violence of a hired killer (voiced with gravelly evil by Alec Baldwin) sent to stomp our heroes out of existence might be upsetting for the youngest of the young. Its not unlike the effect older members of the audience may experience when viewing the extensive sun damage on David Hasselhofs back, shown in semi-closeup during is perfectly pitched self-mocking appearance. Never mind, its worth the risk.
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