Released on Aug. 14, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run is the franchise’s third film and is one of few movies in theatres right now due to COVID-19.
Although I’ve had a life-long love for SpongeBob, and know certain episodes inside and out, I can confidently say that Sponge on the Run is not worth the risky trip to theatres for anyone—SpongeBob fan or not.
Brutally boring
Perhaps most pressing, the film commits the cardinal sin of children’s movies: it’s boring. Sponge on the Run’s plot felt less like that of a movie’s and more like a poorly-written sketch comedy show. Scenes felt only loosely connected by the quest plotline of finding Gary—ripped off almost directly from the first SpongeBob movie where SpongeBob and Patrick went on a quest to find King Neptune’s crown.
Worse still, I couldn’t identify a single character that had a remotely compelling arc. The film relies on the audience’s pre-existing connection with characters rather than doing anything original or interesting with them.
Nostalgic animation
From a technical standpoint, the film is strong. The animation, while entirely CGI, is fun to watch and is in many ways more truthful to SpongeBob’s original animation style than the show’s recent seasons. Facial expressions, character movements, and scenery are refreshingly familiar and I couldn’t help but smile throughout the first act.
The film’s opening scene—an unapologetic use of weaponized nostalgia—was the most enjoyable part for these exact reasons. The audience is given a tour of Bikini Bottom that, coupled with the brilliant ukulele-driven score, feels like a carefree submarine ride into the past.
Live-action Snoop Dogg
Unfortunately, the charm stops here. While there are some standout animated moments throughout the remainder of the film, the bulk of its runtime is devoid of any visual charm. In fact, it almost seems like the director and animators were crafting scenes to get around having to do any complex animation.
For example, a lengthy portion of the second act is devoted to a live-action flesh-eating-cowboy-pirate-zombie dance battle featuring a surprisingly-stiff Snoop Dogg who looks like he’s just there for a paycheck. While SpongeBob is no stranger to live-action (all three movies integrated the format into their plots) Sponge on the Run seems to use live-action more frequently and with less effect.
Sequences like these appear to be an attempt by the film’s writers to bring the SpongeBob franchise back to its roots in bizarre humour. While the sentiment is welcome, it seems they forgot that just because something is strange doesn’t inherently make it funny. Most of these sequences consequently fall flat.
Kamp Koral
Sponge on the Run’s biggest crime, however, arrives through a lengthy series of flashbacks during the third act. Essentially, this sequence pauses the film’s climax to deliver what felt like an extended commercial for Kamp Koral. For those who lead normal lives and are not aware of the recent controversy surrounding Kamp Koral, allow me to elaborate.
Kamp Koral is an upcoming spinoff TV series that focuses on younger versions of SpongeBob characters who attend the eponymous summer camp. SpongeBob’s creator Stephen Hillenburg, who died of causes related to ALS in 2018, was expressly against the idea of doing a spinoff series. Nickelodeon initially abided by Hillenburg’s wishes. However, in a decision that long-time SpongeBob animator Paul Tibbit called “greedy, lazy executive-ing” the studio greenlit Kamp Koral shortly after Hillenburg’s death.
The inclusion of this promotion is egregious enough on its own, but the truly infuriating part is just how long it goes on for. I cannot stress enough how much the third act is simply forgotten about to deliver this special preview that has little to no relevance towards the movie’s plot.
This promotion detracts from the story so that the film does not have enough runtime to bring its story to a satisfying conclusion. Though I was hardly engaged at this point, I was still somehow disappointed. The plot was resolved with a forgettable speech and a tasteless joke that targets people suffering from body image issues.
A joke of the worst kind
Maybe I’m being too harsh. There is one thing that Sponge on the Run does right—it saves one of its best jokes for last. A title card appears just before the end credits displaying the words “In Loving Memory of Stephen Hillenburg” and I can assure you that the near-empty theatre echoed with my laughter.
Featured image provided by Paramount Animation.
