It’s been a while since I checked in with SpongeBob SquarePants. My nephew doesn’t need babysitting and rarely I stumble home from a concert with the munchies. But the bright yellow oceanic Candide still lives in a pineapple under the sea, undergoing madcap adventures that ride currents of absurdity, all while maintaining his purity and optimism. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water is 90 minutes of sugar shock that requires little exposure to the nearly 15-year-old franchise. Sure, there’s a semblance of a story (and some winks for longtime fans) but this is primarily an exercise in hyperactivity meant to spark glee in kids and draw chuckles from adults. The effect is admittedly ephemeral, yet while the film is running it is altogether effective.
A framing device introduces live-action Antonio Banderas as a pirate snatching a book about SpongeBob’s home village of Bikini Bottom. Exaggerating his Iberian accent, our bearded narrator commences to spin a yarn about our lovable animated pals. SpongeBob, you may recall, works for Mr Krabs at Krusty Krab making Krabby Patties. Mr Krabs may be a bit of a skinflint, but he’s all right. Plankton, a tiny bad guy, has long wanted the secret formula for the Krabby Patties, and he’s finally cooked up a way to snatch it from the Krusty Krab vault. An unforeseen development causes the recipe to disappear, and now SpongeBob and Plankton must join forces to find it, because the lack of Krabby Patties has sent Bikini Bottom into chaos. (With a blink this joyous community of aquatic creatures transforms into the post-apocalyptic mayhem of The Road Warrior, leather garments and all.)
SpongeBob and Plankton’s buddy picture is rife with tangents, like a literal trip inside SpongeBob’s cotton candy brain and excursions on a time machine. (Through use of the latter we meet Squidwardsaurus Rex, an enormous-but-still-cute Jurassic version of Krusty Krab’s curmudgeonly cashier Squidward.) Best, though, is a chat with Bubbles, a hyper-intelligent dolphin floating through space in some sort of pyramid as he watches over our galaxy. None of this much impresses the unflappable SpongeBob, who always seems more preoccupied with being on his best behaviour. (And besides, Bubbles is prone to interrupt his own brilliant pronouncements with uncontrollable squeaks.)
The film’s final act ramps up the lunacy by bringing the gang into the “real world”. On a populated beach, tiny 3D versions of SpongeBob, Squidward, the adorably imbecilic Patrick (a purple starfish) and more get into trouble as they continue the hunt for Krabby Patties. It’s here that the narrative caves in on itself, as Antonio Banderas is revealed as the “author” of Bikini Bottom’s current woes, something of an update on Bugs Bunny in Duck Amuck.
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water makes a calculated marketing decision to dovetail into superhero tropes, which no doubt looks great on the poster, but causes the last third of the movie to drag considerably. Much like real superhero movies, the slugfest showdown lasts forever. It really is a letdown, because so much of the action in the film is top notch. A jailbreak scene (with Patrick as guard) cuts together wonderfully, as do the 2001: A Space Odyssey-inspired time-travel jumps. Moreover, the script is a minefield of puns blasting in every which direction.
It isn’t just the sheer density of jokes that is impressive, but the diversity. Trippy visual surrealism, like Plankton’s POV shots as he’s tortured by SpongeBob’s laugh, can quickly crystallise into clever sight gags. Barking “hold that thought!” and cutting to a literal representation of that action is something not just any animator can pull off. By the time Bubbles the Space Dolphin reappears to do an angry rap just before the credits, you’ve either given yourself over to the weirdness or you’ve walked out of the theatre.
• The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water is released in the US on 6 February and in the UK on 27 March.
