Review of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015) by Abhilash S — 09 Jun 2015

The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, ridiculous title aside, is a worthy if a little manic sequel to the original. The film is exceedingly funny and takes a different turn from the original, which is always interesting. However, one can't help but feel like the team of Spongebob and plankton, whilst interesting, is no match for that of the title character and his pink friend. Once more the plot is somewhat thin and there is, more than the original, a true sense of surrealism.

The scenes in the TV's original hand-drawn animations are the best in the whole movie. Perhaps this is because they resemble the goofiness of the original series. Nonetheless, it's also clear that, these parts especially, resemble more of an extended episode as opposed to a feature film.

Where the film truly excels is in it's most surreal and random moments, providing a truly exciting and unpredictable experience. Where the film falters is in two areas.

The first is the sub-plot of burger-beard as this becomes a much less interesting development than the apocalypse in Bikini Bottom. This brings me onto my next criticism, the live action scenes. Whilst handled deftly, this is where the film becomes more ridiculous but less enjoyable.

Antonio Banderas is actually rather good, but it's Spongebob and his friends turning into superheroes that let's it all down. The problem is how this is handled, resembling a generic, uninteresting Hollywood blockbuster. Furthermore I can't stress how annoying it is to see them in cgi. They didn't need to be and weren't in the original.

The ending is also too saccharine. After plankton, who looks preposterous, finally has the krabby patty formula, he gives it to spongebob because they're a te-am. Wait......what? Having never, ever ever done this and having blatantly tried to steal it time and time again, used it in the original, this seems a betrayal of his character.

The spongebob movie: sponge out of water is a surreal, wacky adventure that is exciting, funny and loveable. However, with Hollywood cliches playing a bigger part in this sequel, one has to wonder whether Spongebob is losing his touch....