Bob l'éponge, le film

This is a movie about an animated sponge that wears square cardboard pants. So there you go, you can't go to the movie and claim you didn't know what kind of humor to expect. It's goofy, it's silly, and it can be downright strange. But I can't call those negative attributes considering the fact that all of the above can also be used to describe me at times.

I've never seen the SpongeBob TV show, so I went into the movie without much of an idea of what I was in for. I must say that while I won't rush out and buy the DVD, I walked away fairly entertained. Expectedly, a lot of the humor is directed towards children, but there's enough here to keep the adults snickering. I may be nearing 30, but I'm not ashamed to laugh at a sponge wearing square whitey tighties! Oh, and for those of us who never cease to mock David Hasselhoff - he has a cameo. I've gotta give the guy credit - he's very aware that the entire country is laughing *at* him, yet he's completely willing to join in.

The children at the screening loved the movie, singing along to songs and everything. One of the funniest things was when Patrick the starfish first appeared on screen and the kids erupted in applause. It was like watching an episode of Seinfeld when Kramer makes his first appearance of an episode and the studio audience goes crazy. I briefly thought about booing just for the fun of it, but the thought of a bunch of tiny little hands pattering me upon my face didn't sound too fun.

But let's go back to the whole "singing along to songs" bit. I think it's only fair to warn parents that this may start to drive you crazy after the movie. Good luck trying to keep your kid from singing, "I'm ready, promotion! I'm ready, promotion!" or "I'm a goofy goober, you're a goofy goober, we're all goofy goobers" over and over and over again. I had to bribe my 9-year-old brother with cold hard cash to knock it off with the "I'm ready, promotion!" song.

Speaking of my brother, I asked him after the movie which he preferred -SpongeBob or The Polar Express. To my surprise, he said SpongeBob because it was "funnier." I suppose this is a lesson that children aren't quite as impressed with fancy animation as adults are.

But he's right, SpongeBob is a funny movie in it's own quirky, original way. I'm not dying to see it again, and I don't think I'll be glued to the TV set every time it's on, but I enjoyed it, and I'm not gonna waste my time or yours by picking apart what I didn't like. The target audience should be pleased with the end result, so mission accomplished.

THE GIST

If you're a fan of the TV show, then you should definitely get a kick out of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. This movie isn't exactly for everybody though. If you've never heard of SpongeBob, then there's quite a bit here that may humor you. But if you hate all things silly, goofy, and immature, then this isn't for you.

I have to put my hand up right now and say that the whole Spongebob thing had passed me by up until I saw this movie. I have no kids, no Satellite TV and therefore no legitimate reason to have caught any episodes of SBSP. However, I did see some of the trailers, and being a submarine nut I loved them. I also got the low down from a friend with a youngster who watched the DVD constantly, day after day, and he confessed to loving the show too. What the hell, I thought I'd see the movie.

What do you know, it's actually quite good! It looks almost exactly like an episode on TV, there doesn't appear to have been any attempt to update, enhance or otherwise movie-fy the series. Fair enough. As for the story and characters, while it's obviously geared to a younger audience I'd have to say that at least half of it would only be understood by the more adult viewer, and there are more than a few nods to other movies that no toddler will have seen. For instance, the silent, motorcycle-riding, super-tough assassin is a dead ringer for the silent, motorcycle-riding, super-tough assassin in Raising Arizona, and just as funny. There's a certain amount of slapstick and visual gags, but the dialogue and situations are fine too.

Overall I enjoyed the movie, it's funny and engaging and although it does start to lag a bit in the third act it's still rewarding. I'm not sure if the live-action was a good idea, but it's always fun to see The Hasselhoff do his stuff on screen, even if it's poking fun at his persona. There's laugh out loud moments, annoying songs, cameos, Hasselhoff and all the other things that a one-off special episode should have, and that's fine by me.

Take the funniest things about Spongebob Squarepants (wacky-anarchist environment and extremely funny animated drawings) and make it an hour-and-a-half long. It's non-stop laughs and plenty of color and all-out craziness. Spongebob and Patrick go off-model so much that it's an eyegasmic delight for the cartoon maniacs out there.

Sooo many entertaining moments. It's literally a laugh-a-minute film... lots of stuff that flies right over the kiddies' heads.

The one thing I didn't like about the movie - the character Mindy (King Neptunes princess daughter). She didn't fit in well with the rest of the character designs - she looks more like a character you would've seen on the Daria animated series.

Also keep an eye out for the big sea creatures' wrestlin' scene with the evil diver... such smooth and precise animation of so many characters at once that I just sat there in pure awe.

I went to see Spongebob because my kid has pretty sophisticated taste, and I couldn't imagine how a cartoon sponge could be interesting. But it was interesting. I wasn't bored for a second, and actually laughed out loud numerous times. Parts of it were definitely off color, but that made it more adult....not just a cartoon kid movie. I loved the David Hasselhof bit. I also liked the other real people and locations that weren't cartoon. This movie would be scary for real little kids, which may help explain why middle school kids like it. I'm not going to watch the TV show every week, but I do think a parent could do worse than going to see Spongebob with his kid...a pleasant afternoon, and insight into what they are watching...

Although I'm sure there are many parents who would shudder at the thought of sitting down to watch The Spongebob Squarepants Movie, I was actually looking forward to it: it may be a far cry from the Disney and Hanna-Barbera fodder I was raised on, but I love the surreal and 'anything goes' vibe of the TV programme and was keen to see the feature length version.

The story centres around Spongebob's attempt to retrieve King Neptune's stolen crown, in order to save the life of his boss, Mr. Krabs, who has been framed for the crime. Together with his friend Patrick, Spongebob travels to Shell City to find the crown and save the day.

Spongebob is a well-meaning character who I find it impossible not to like, and although perhaps the format is stretched a tad too far for an hour-and-a-half long film, there is still plenty to enjoy about this fun packed feature (let's face it—any film that sees a climactic fight take place on David Hasselhoff's butt, and a sponge defeat evil via the power of rock 'n' roll, has got to be worth seeing!).

The Spongebob Squarepants Movie may not win any new fans, but those who think that the TV show is genius should definitely give this one a whirl.