After 22 years on television, Spongebob Squarepants is just as popular as he’s ever been. That’s mostly due to the character’s classic brand of optimistic silliness, which is also what keeps his new movie from falling apart. The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run is the latest installment of Nickelodeon’s beloved franchise, streaming now on Paramount+ (formerly CBS All Access). The film, originally scheduled for a 2020 theatrical release, launches the studio’s new streaming platform with the aid of some of their most enduring characters: Patrick, Squidward, and the whole Spongebob gang.
The movie follows a very loose narrative in which Spongebob and Patrick must once again hit the road, this time to rescue the beloved pet snail Gary from the tyrannical King Poseidon (voiced by What We Do in the Shadows star Matt Berry). Joining them along the way are their equally eccentric neighbors Sandy, Mr. Krabs, Squidward, and Plankton, as well as a host of celebrity cameos (including a fantastically surreal appearance from Keanu Reeves as their spirit guide). Over the course of the movie’s brief runtime, friendships are tested, villains are defeated, and the strength of community is put on full display. It actually has a really sweet message about how every person is important in the lives of those around them. But of course, what we really came here for are the laughs.
Sponge on the Run is funny. When I laughed, I laughed out loud. That being said, though, the laughs are rather spread out, more so than in a typical episode, where jokes are fired off at a rapid pace. It makes sense for Spongebob’s pace to have slowed down a bit, this is a 20-year-old series after all. But watching this new film does bring to mind the feeling one gets watching a present-day episode of The Simpsons. It’s still smart and funny and basically everything you remember it being, it’s just a little bit off. You can also hear that time and strain has affected many of the voice actors who have been with the show since the beginning (another issue The Simpsons has been having lately). There’s nothing wrong with their performances, it’s just somewhat disappointing to hear these characters, who started out so energetic, mellow with age.
The film reminded me quite a bit of The Peanuts Movie, another CGI glow-up of an iconically squiggly drawn 2-D property. Much like that movie, Sponge on the Run felt (to this 25-year-old viewer) like I was returning to see old friends I hadn’t visited in a while. It’s pleasant. The difference being, of course, that the Peanuts series had been dormant for years when their big screen adaptation came out. Meanwhile, Spongebob is still running new 2-D episodes on TV. Will this 3-D addition to the series feel out of place to the kids watching new episodes at home, or is the Spongebob-ian silliness strong enough to help bridge the stylistic gap for young fans?
Of course, when talking about the new Spongebob Movie, it’s hard not to address the sad elephant in the room. Spongebob’s creator, the late Stephen Hillenburg, was an overseer on almost every Spongebob product, with this new film being his final contribution. He was very protective of the characters and always very resistant to the idea of any spin-offs or reboots (something Nick has been less than respectful of since his passing). Although he helped develop this new movie, he died early into production, and as a result a good portion of the runtime is reserved for seemingly unrelated scenes about young Spongebob spending his summers at camp. These segments serve to help set up Paramount +’s new Spongebob prequel show, Kamp Koral. Not only are these segments distracting, but if you know of the behind-the-scenes tragedies that lead to their inclusion in the film, they leave a bad taste in your mouth.
Overall, The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run is a bit of a mixed bag. There’s plenty to enjoy and smile at, but not as many laughs per minute as older fans might have hoped for. Although it is the weakest installment of what is now the Spongebob Movie trilogy, it’s still an enjoyable ride back into the weird world of Bikini Bottom.
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