The spongebob Squarepants movie...

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By moot | Thursday, November 18, 2004 at 1:06pm

You know it was only a matter of time before a thread discussing this silly movie was about to pop up. I, for one, am a huge fan of the Spongebob series and will see this movie in the theatre. Sometimes, silly slapstick humor is all you need.

Is anyone else planning to see this movie with the utmost glee that I share?

-moot

Thu, 11/18/2004 - 3:24pm

(Reply to #1) #2

damage

I'm going...... Well actually my kids r dragging me to it. I do enjoy the show tho.:P

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Tue, 11/23/2004 - 9:11pm

(Reply to #2) #3

Haredevil_Hare

I saw it and enjoyed it. There were many parts where I laughed out loud. Although there was a moral worked in to the screenplay, it didn't overshadow the silliness, which is indeed beneficial to a film like this.

It's already doing better at the box office than The Incredibles. Though The Incredibles is easily the superior film, I'm glad SpongeBob is doing well. :)

—

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Wed, 11/24/2004 - 4:33am

(Reply to #3) #4

Harvey Human

With all the griping about the recent decline in the industry of 2D animated features, you'd think people on this board would be more celebratory about the success of this movie. oh well

It's a good TV show, so I'll eventually see the movie.

Sat, 11/27/2004 - 5:35pm

(Reply to #4) #5

Harvey Human

this insightful review from one of the greatest animation historians,
Jerry Beck:

Saw THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE last night. It's a kid's flick, but a really funny, really good kids flick. I liked it a lot.

I'm still warming in the afterglow of the greatness that is THE INCREDIBLES - Pixar's film is a classic, aimed at all audiences and works on all levels. SPONGEBOB is the best in the recent crop of TV-spinoff movies - a group which includes the RUGRATS movies (they are better than they have any right to be), THE POWERPUFF GIRLS MOVIE (with its strong designs), and TEACHER'S PET (excellent humor, design and direction) - It's perhaps the best Nickelodeon Movie thus far (full disclosure, I used to work for Nick Movies developing animated features), it encompasses the subversive nature of the channel, the network's kids empowerment message and great animation design that is classic, yet takes full advantage of the medium's surreal language.

It's not perfect - but it's good moments are really good - the highlight for me being the song Spongebob and Patrick sing about being "men" while marching through a monster filled trench - featuring the coolest alien creature designs I've seen since Kimball's MARS & BEYOND.

While the animation itself is adequate, the star of the show are the strong layouts, poses, hilarious facial expressions, great comic timing and even funny sound effects (I noticed a cool sound cue from an old Speed Racer episode at one point, but I think I was the only person in the theatre who "got it").

As an animation historian, I thought it was great that this Paramount release has so much combination live action and animation (like Koko The Clown, which Paramount once distributed long ago) and in the Goofy Goober ice cream sequence there is an homage to two early Paramount cartoon stars - Krazy Kat and Popeye - on the wall behind the characters (look close - there's a panel from the first comic strip appearence of Popeye, and a classic Ignatz & Krazy brick tossing drawing).
It's not the greatest animated film of the year - but a refreshing, worthy, funny holiday movie that is certainly encouraging during this time of 2-D suppression.

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/

So let's hear it! 2D is not dead. Go and see this movie if you want to support the 2D medium that you claim to cherish.

Mon, 11/29/2004 - 8:18am

(Reply to #5) #6

motionmilitia

Spongebob cracks me up! I'm definately going to see this in the theater.

Thu, 12/02/2004 - 9:29am

(Reply to #6) #7

xtina2050

I went. I laughed, but not as much as I expected to laugh for $7.50. I find the SB Cartoons funny, but just wasn't that into the film. (I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the SB Metal Tribute!) :)

My kids (6 y/o and 12 y/o) on the other hand were rolling in the aisles! Since we went to the movie, I've had numerous requests for SB paraphernalia for xmas. *cha-ching!* ;)

The film has been marketed very well and is pleasing to its target audience, which is a good thing for animation. Commercial success = more opportunity for other animated features. :D

All life is an experiment.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thu, 12/02/2004 - 9:46am

(Reply to #7) #8

xtina2050

I went. I laughed, but not as much as I expected to laugh for $7.50. I find the SB Cartoons funny, but just wasn't that into the film. (I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the SB Metal Tribute!) :)

My kids (6 y/o and 12 y/o) on the other hand were rolling in the aisles! Since we went to the movie, I've had numerous requests for SB paraphernalia for xmas. *cha-ching!* ;)

The film has been marketed very well and is pleasing to its target audience, which is a good thing for animation. Commercial success = more opportunity for other animated features. :D

P.S.
Well done Sponge Bob. Rock on!

All life is an experiment.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thu, 12/02/2004 - 11:28am

(Reply to #8) #9

Harvey Human

nov 14
If I wake up feeling a bit gloomy, all I have to do is think, "I'll never have to devote two hours of my life to watching The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie!" and I'm instantly cheerful.

nov 22
A VOTE FOR "SPONGEBOB": Within the last few days, I've spoken dismissively about The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (which I haven't seen) and posted a review of The Incredibles(which I most definitely have seen). Aaron Hazouri, who has seen both films, has written to me about them:

[i]"... But after being dragged to The SpongeBob SquarePants movie (I've never seen more than three or four minutes of the TV cartoon)...

"Well—I liked it![/i]

"The film totally lacks any kind of pretension and is crammed full of funny drawings; no animation is wasted, as it all goes into the next ridiculous, absurd gag.
...
"I somehow doubt you'll ever throw away an hour and a half of your life watching this ridiculous, hilarious little film. I just wanted to make my voice—probably in the distinct minority—heard. This movie was fantastic, and I wish I'd saved the cash I spent on The Incredibles so I could splurge and see SpongeBob again."

nov 24
THE "SPONGEBOB" BANDWAGON: Maybe it's gathering steam; after all, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie did beat out The Incredibles at the box office last weekend.
Bradley Bethel has written to add his voice to those praising the film: "If you've seen the TV show, you might assume that the movie is merely a ninety-minute episode. Actually, the movie is a little more than that. It's a brilliant adventure that registers as a true feature film story, while at the same time, it doesn't stray too far from the series. It has sing-a-longs, but it's not trying to be 'Disney' in any way.

"The movie is also a great display of character emotions and colors. In the movie as in the TV show, SpongeBob and Patrick have a wide range of expressions that were clearly influenced by Ren & Stimpy. Throughout the film, the backgrounds' palette reflects the emotional atmosphere; the typical underwater setting will be sunny and blue, a dreary setting will be dark and green, and a playful scene will be a mixture of pink and purple."

Maybe I'll have to see SpongeBob after all.

nov 28
THE "SPONGEBOB" BANDWAGON ROLLS ON: Not only are Jerry Beck and Amid Amidi saying nice things about The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie at their indispensable Cartoon Brew site, but I also received this note from Fred Seibert, a TV-animation veteran perhaps best known from his tenure as president of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. He's now president of Frederator Studios and closely associated with the Nickelodeon cable channels. He wrote in response to Aaron Hazouri's praise for SpongeBob in my November 22 posting:
"Thank you for publishing the letter from the SpongeBob Movie fan. As a TV cartoon producer I'm personally pretty sick of the attention given to feature animation solely because it's big. Most of it's pretty bad, pretty boring, and, often, not even pretty.

"I'm a competitor to SpongeBob, so I can't really give you an objective opinion. But it's loved, it's funny. As time passes, I'm positive SpongBob SquarePants will be seen for what it is, the Bugs Bunny of the new generation (and please, no comments about how every generation gets what it deserves).

"TV in general gets a bad rap, TVanimation most of all. [But] there's more good writing, acting, and filmmaking on TV every week than there is in a year's worth of feature films."

Yes—to eat my words of a few weeks ago—I will be seeing The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie soon.