The most famous sea sponge in the world receives a tasteful transformation into a new film that remains true to the sweetly demented nature of its franchise.
The most popular sea sponge in the world for the past 20 consecutive years, the ever-optimistic SpongeBob SquarePants is back, spongier than ever, and eager to give us a brief but happy relief from the collective waterlogging of the past 12 months. Not that the osmotic optimist is really gone; some time has passed since SpongeBob’s previous adventure, but the Nickelodeon show that made him an icon among children and stoners is still going strong despite the death of creator Stephen Hillenburg in 2018.
Even so, two decades is a long time in sponge years, and even basal metazoans who live in pineapples under the sea and earn billions of dollars for their matrices in licensing agreements are not immune to the pressures of a superficial industry that only tends to care about what’s above the surface. In other words, SpongeBob was able to do a certain “job”. And he is not alone. In fact, literally all creatures (and buildings!) In the benthic city of Fenda do Bikini have received the same expensive procedure: a full-body 3D oplasty.
Still, it must be said that the characters who came out whole on the other side have never been better. A little plastic, perhaps, but in a tactile and ultra-expressive way that owes more to the aesthetics of the live toy from “The LEGO Movie” than to the “fuck the kids, serve the shareholders” macabre of something like “Scoob! “
It helps that “The SpongeBob movie: Sponge on the Run” matches its new brilliance by staying true to the spirit of the franchise, while writer / director Tim Hill (“Grandpa’s War”) plunges into an exuberant but typically disturbed that they mend a crazy mess of sea debris into something that vaguely resembles a story; for better or for worse, SpongeBob devotees will feel at home. In addition to his style, this is very familiar for a film that starts with an explanation of Poseidon’s skin care routine, ends with an underwater karaoke contest and pauses in the middle for a second act involving Danny Trejo as a pirate zombie meat-eating cowboy.
As impressive as it may be that these characters have not yet been squeezed to dry, there is no denying that some of the jokes are inundated with the same kind of “does it really matter more?” energy that older fans can recognize from the past 20 seasons of “The Simpsons”. But homemade food always tastes better when you’re not secretly craving a Michelin star. “Sponge on the Run” goes by too fast to think of the moments when you run out of breath, and the crazy science that Hillenburg first experienced in “Rocko’s Modern Life” is still based on a textured palette of sweet insanity that you can’t help. , but keep watching. In addition – and this is very important – a live-action Keanu Reeves plays a tumbleweed sage named Sage, who appears to offer pearls of spiritual advice to SpongeBob and his friend Patrick whenever they need it most. It doesn’t matter if this film is premiering at Paramount +, it is obviously Cinema with a capital “D”.
But don’t be fooled by the title or the small handful of celebrities – “Sponge on the Run” belongs to one character above all others, and that character is Gary the Snail (whose adorable jargon is provided by Bob’s voice actor Tom Kenny sponge). For those who don’t know or don’t remember, Gary is SpongeBob’s longtime pet snail, and he absolutely dominates. The Bikini Bottom Blobby, Gary has two giant eyes that come out of his slimy body and tends to be a little stinky every now and then, but the trail of mucus he leaves behind is not the only thing about him that stays with you . When Gary has a snail nap by Poseidon (Matt Berry) because the conceited sea god is running out of the slime he needs for his skin care regime, there’s no chance that SpongeBob will find another mollusk to fix the hole in your heart . “Friends don’t allow friends to become someone else’s face cream.” A valuable lesson for any family film.
Fasten your seat belt for a trip to Atlantic City’s casino-ridden lost kingdom! Of course, it won’t be that easy. One problem is that neither SpongeBob nor his Samwise Gamgee from a fellow traveler Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke) has access to a car, and may be a little too quick to accept a ride from the plankton maniac (Mr. Lawrence), who always has a hidden motive of some kind or another. His cowardly coin-operated plans are always delicious, and this involves a hypercapitalist killer robot named Otto (Awkwafina, funny in a subscribed role) who offers to lead our heroes to Atlantic City. The rebellious journey to rescue Gary from the clutches of Poseidon and his playful and disinterested right-handed fish (Reggie Watts) is defined by his detours, but “SpongeBob” diehards may feel cheated if not treated with some live-action sequences land-based, a “Livin ‘la Vida Loca” montage that has its antiquity, and a breathtaking sax performance by the great Kelpy G.
None of these jokes rise above sea level or even really try to rise, as “Sponge on the Run” is about keeping a boil of manic energy worthy of laughter so that no one realizes how she uses clumsily flashbacks to prepare for a new series. prequels at Paramount +. But they all help keep things going until the characters arrive in Atlantic City just in time for the film to suffer a sugar break. Even the weakest parts survive with good vibes and meta-intelligence (Reeves has become something of a human meme in recent years, but “Sponge on the Run” orders the actor’s brand for a series of solid laughs), and the animation it is detailed and inventive enough that the entire film seems to be drenched in SpongeBob’s demented energy.
And of course there is always Gary. Whenever Gary is not on the screen, the audience can’t help but wonder, “Where’s Gary?” And when Gary shows up, you wonder how you managed to survive without him. Sign up for Paramount + and you’ll never remember. If this is not a winning strategy to launch a new multi-billion dollar streaming platform in an overcrowded space that cannibalizes itself in utero at the expense of sustainable content distribution, then what is it?
Serie B-
“The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” will be available for broadcast on Paramount + starting Thursday, March 4.
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