Susan Granger’s review of “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water” (Paramount/Nickelodeon)
After success of 2004’s “The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie,” a sequel was inevitable, as the colorful characters in Stephen Hillenburg’s TV toon embark on another adventure.
Under the sea in Bikini Bottom, porous SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) and his purple starfish pal Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke) once again foil an attempt by their scheming, one-eyed nemesis, Plankton (Doug Lawrence – a.k.a. Mr. Lawrence), to steal stingy Mr. Krab’s (Clancy Brown) secret formula for succulent Krabby Patties to save his Chum Bucket eatery from bankruptcy.
But then, suddenly, the precious recipe for the delicious delicacies disappears from the vault at the Krusty Krab! Pandemonium reigns until the rival restauranteurs join forces on a perilous mission.
SpongeBob, Patrick, Mr. Krabs and Plankton, along with the curmudgeonly cashier Squidward Tentacles (Roger Burnpass) and savvy squirrel Sandy Cheeks (Carolyn Lawrence), travel to the surface to track down the villainous pirate Burger Beard (Antonio Banderas), who has transformed his ship into a food truck and serves as Narrator.
Visual gags abound. Bubbles the hyper-intelligent dolphin (Matt Berry) shoots lasers out of his blowhole, while SpongeBob and Patrick take a spin in a cotton-candy machine, emerging on a crazed ‘sugar high.’ There’s a time-tripping excursion into the Jurassic past, seagull poop jokes and a plethora of puns.
Mr. Krabs commands: “Release the condiments!” SpongeBob replies, “With relish!”
Screenwriters Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger inspire directors Paul Tibbett (who handles the underwater sequences) and Mike Mitchell (who helms the live-action scenes) to soar off into muscle-bound superhero territory. The result is predictably uneven.
Given the choice and the extra surcharge, the 3-D is superfluous.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water” is a silly, surreal, squeezable 6, making family-friendly waves in our world.
