Plankton, la película

You know what, maybe SpongeBob movies from Netflix are not completely hopeless after all. Plankton The Movie might not be the best one, but probably the best SpongeBob movies in recent years. It has given Plankton his own movie and has handled the character very well. Sure, the plot can at times feel the movie tries to play it safe and the models can be a bit off. But the movie does make up for those for having great flashback scenes that gives growth for Plankton himself on why he started doing evil, good comedy especially from the snarks, a good amount of character development for the movie, some animation improvement, fun action, and some solid songs. I know that there will be those that want to watch this just to see how it improved from last time, and it surprisingly did. So I'll say this: Do you want to watch a movie about Plankton? I do think it will be worth a watch. Sure I know there's people that are tired of SpongeBob, but at least this one will be one of the better SpongeBob projects to get a good laugh. I'll be honest, I did have doubts for this at first based on my experience from Saving Bikini Bottom and I thought that was going to be how Netflix SpongeBob movies would go. But surprisingly, Plankton did manage to find a way to make his plan work for this film. Well, we are getting another SpongeBob movie at the end of this year. And it does contain producers involved with the first season. So all I can say is that Search For SquarePants better be really something great.

I used to be a die-hard SpongeBob fan - emphasis on used to. It's a show and a character that made and continues to define childhoods, including mine. Regardless of their quality, I watched almost every episode until 2021, when we got two spinoffs in "Kamp Koral" and "The Patrick Star Show." I felt pain watching the former's pilot and watched a few episodes before stopping the pitiful latter. If it wasn't the shows or the disappointment I felt watching "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run," it sure was the realization that the main show wasn't doing anything unique or fun anymore. That could be a symptom of growing up, but that was the final nail in the coffin for my perception of SpongeBob and even Nickelodeon itself. It's sad because, two years prior, I was still on board, having met SpongeBob himself, Tom Kenny, in a once-in-a-lifetime meet that same year. Circling back to "Plankton: The Movie," I would've skipped it due to its trash trailer. Don't even get me started on "Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie." The trailer was garbage, so I didn't think twice when skipping it. The reception afterward proved I made the right decision. I only checked out Netflix's second SpongeBob effort because I saw it getting a far better reception than I ever imagined, with fans saying it's the best film since the 2004 original movie. It's not. "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" is an absolute classic that, after years of thinking about it, I can comfortably say was the true ending to the show. Many say SpongeBob died once Steven Hillenburg left, and while it didn't end per se, it got weaker the more it went on, making that fun cinematic ride age incredibly well, at least in my head. "Sponge Out of Water" was a step-down but was highly entertaining. My mother will never forgive not having Slash in the film as promised in the trailers. As mentioned, "Sponge on the Run" was disappointing, mainly because it felt like the setup to "Kamp Koral" rather than being original. Keanu Reeves' supporting role was satisfying, and the animation was stunning. The only film that "Plankton: The Movie" surpasses that I've seen is the last one. That said, while it's not perfect, I'm surprised to report that it was decent.

To start, the voice actors were as solid as ever. The three that take up the most focus - Jill Talley as Karen, Tom Kenny as SpongeBob, and Mr. Lawrence as Plankton - made the movie more pleasing than it had any right to be, and I got somewhat invested in Plankton and Karen's dynamic.

Secondly, I laughed more than I thought. I expected to be dead silent throughout, with that one handsome Plankton joke from the trailer not doing this film any favors beforehand. While they're undeniably jokes geared toward kids, I giggled at many of the comedic bits. Some of them were unexpectedly more mature, which I admire. One had me laughing out loud, however. I won't spoil it, but if you choose to see it, you'll hopefully know which one I'm talking about.

Next, this movie contains numerous references to the show and films, and they didn't feel forced. Considering I haven't seen the show in years, I remembered what season and episode a callback was from very often.

For a narrative, while it has issues, it's not generic. Mr. Lawrence is a writer alongside Chris Viscardi, and they delivered something wildly interesting, especially when it comes to Karen turning evil and how that affects Plankton, so I appreciate that.

Finally, I saved the best positive for last: starting at 54:35, the following 1 minute and 48 seconds is the best part of the movie. You're welcome. Again, no spoilers, but I felt that was the perfect summary of what the overall film and conflict were about. Additionally, the film has moments that feature visually dazzling different animation styles that are welcome inclusions.

That leads me to the negatives, beginning with the animation. I don't want to say it's terrible because the crew likely worked hard to make it. I'll admit it looks odd almost all the time, and it may be since it's a downgrade from the animation in "Sponge on the Run." It would've been better if the animation was more akin to that or in a 2D style like the show or the first two movies.

Afterward, and I'm not spoiling anything, but I don't entirely like the direction they take Plankton. Plankton's involved with Karen's double-heel turn, and for a while, he acts confusingly. It's hard not to spoil anything, so I'll end this paragraph with one word: jerk.

Is it me, or has SpongeBob been too idiot for over two decades? My headcanon, especially after this film, is that the Season 3 episode "Squilliam Returns" was the day when SpongeBob became completely stupid. Man, he's super-dumb in this film, and I know he's been this way for a long time, but this was almost pushing it.

Lastly, I saw missed opportunities for visual gags. Many of the jokes would've landed better being accompanied by equally funny graphics. For example, there was an opportunity for an Imagination-esque gag that didn't happen. It could just be a me-thing, and it wasn't that big of a bother, but it would've been nice.

I'm flabbergasted that "Plankton: The Movie" wasn't near the worst thing I've seen. I thought for sure that this would be a total misfire. Its trailer may have been slightly better than "Saving Bikini Bottom," but not by much. As it turns out, it's respectable fun that may not be a movie the whole family can relate to per se, but you won't regret putting it on for movie night.

Technically, yeah, that's where we get into problems. The voice acting, screenplay, and occasionally unique animation can't shine through the rest of the CGI and the general unimpressive nature of the film, so the technical score is a 5/10.

The enjoyment score, on the other hand, is different. Younger audiences and SpongeBob fans will likely have a 9/10 experience, but will adults who aren't fans or were past fans themselves too? Not even close. Thankfully, it's never a miserable watch, and I think the enjoyment score is a 6/10. I'm glad it's not horrible; instead, it's a true delight!

Plankton wants to steal the Krabby Patty formula again and take over the world. It goes badly and Karen has had enough. She magnetizes the Chum Bucket which attracts all the metal in Bikini Bottom. She turns into a mega three-headed evil robot using all the metal to create a giant robot. In flashback, Karen is shown to be a calculator and a potato.

This is a Spongebob musical concentrating on Plankton and Karen. They used a variety of animation styles. It's interesting. The story isn't all that much. I'm not sure that it deserves a full movie treatment. I do like some of the songs. Maybe this is better as different smaller segments. It does run a bit long.

While everything is very good, I really love this movie, the only flaw I hate about it is the fact they try to rewrite the lore about why plankton wants the Krabby patty secret formula, besides that everything else is really good, of course whenever there's a flashback, I feel like they should've went to more of the original cartoonist style because in my opinion that'd make it better, but it does have its good sides, its a really good love story about plankton and karen, and yes there could've been more characters used, its overall a good movie I really loved watching it, I'll admit it was pretty funny too.

In this new installment of the SpongeBob movie, we delve into the villain's experienced psychologist: Plankton.

A new threat hits Bikini Bottom, and it's none other than Karen, who turns out to be the biggest villain of all.

This new adventure will immerse us in the crazy love story of the villains of this show. Half of the music was enjoyable and the other half was terrible. A few jokes for adults and as an extra fact: a tribute to the classic Plankton episodes that we all remember.

I definitely recommend giving it a try, it's not as good as the first movie but it's certainly better than the last four installments we've had.