SpongeBob - Fuori dall'acqua

I was never really into Spongebob as a kid or, stoned out teenager. I was more of a Rocco's modern life guy. When is he coming out with a movie? But you don't need to be a fan of the cartoon before, to love the movie now.

Half 2D animation like the TV show, half live action with Spongebob and his friends done in 3D CGI, Antonio Banderas plays a pirate captain of a ship telling what feels like another episode of Spongebob with Plankton's new attempt on trying to steel the formula for Krabby patties to make the Chum Bucket better. Than to flip the script on us, the pirate captain steels the formula forcing the gang to travel to the surface to get it back.

It's a funny cartoon style comedy. It's been a while since I've seen some slap stick cartoon animation and the sponge delivers squeezing the laughter right out of you (pun). It was a lot of little giggles leading up to a few big laughs. You can't help it. A lot of smart people worked hard to make these guys real stupid.

And I love it when animation goes to the limit with it's story telling. Spongebob had a very surrealistic feel. Just like the cartoon, it was like I was on something but don't need to be to enjoy the fun.

And that was what the cartoon was in a nutshell, fun. Playful for all audiences no matter what the age. Total good time at the movies.

There are a couple of factors that come into play when TV cartoon characters have their big screen appearances. The biggest one being that the cartoon became so popular, a movie needed to be made. Sometimes it also signals the end of the series. The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (2004) was originally creator's Stephen Hillenburg's finale to the TV series. However, after exceeding box office predictions, Spongebob was renewed for several seasons later. One would think after that showing would also warrant another big movie to be made soon after. Well it came,...surprisingly really late compared to how well received movies get a green lit sequel so quickly afterward. Sometimes, though the time is worth the wait and this can be said for Spongebob's 2nd big screen entry with some of the usual flaws (most obvious being continuity).

Like many other Spongebob episodes and the movie before this, Plankton is up to his old tricks again; attempting to steal Mr. Krabs' secret Krabby Patty formula. Except this time, there's more going on involving the secret formula than even Plankton knows. Out of nowhere, Krabs' secret recipe vanishes among the city of Bikini Bottom when a mysterious individual named Burger Beard (Antonio Banderas) enters the picture. With that, the city of Bikini Bottom descends into chaos, so Spongebob decides he needs to find a way of getting the recipe back in order to restore his hometown into a tranquil society. The writing headed by Glenn Berger and Jonathan Aibel who were also the brains behind Kung Fu Panda (2008) and Monsters Vs Aliens (2009) accomplished what most fans of the series should enjoy. And although Stephen Hillenburg is not directing this time, his right hand man Paul Tibbitt is.

As an overall presentation there aren't many issues with this production. One of the most notably different things about this movie is that it doesn't exactly stay in line with the previous story of the last film. It's really difficult whether to classify this is a sequel or not. It feels like more of a reboot (for those who are debating). Nonetheless this is a minor flub. All the memorable voice-actors from the TV show return once again to voice their undersea counterparts and that's always important. Antonio Banderas as Burger Beard was certainly an interesting choice only because who could've thought Banderas could play such a convincing pirate? He proved himself of that and for his age, he still gets around quite well (which was also proved in The Expendables 3 (2014)). The dialog also leads to number of funny moments, all of which each main character gets even screen time to make a funny. Many of which these moments break the 4th wall.

This also can be a weak point unfortunately in the screenplay because being silly is fun, but the comedy sometimes goes a bit overboard. What the first film has that this one doesn't is a sense of realism. Here, some scenes get a bit nonsensical to where it denies the universe that The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (2004) established. The reasons behind these frivolous events are explained, which is appreciated, but this is what detaches this entry from its last and what makes it questionable to whether it is a sequel or not. Then again, with these outlandish ideas come alternative animation visuals. For Spongebob's traditional animation sequences, the scenes are perhaps even more honed than the first entry; it looks crisp, clear and bright. Yet, what stands out even more is the live-action animation (also directed by Mike Mitchell, best known for directing Sky High (2005)). The character textures and 3D renderings look very well unified in their own right. Spongebob and friends almost look touchable and that's awesome.

Next in line with that are some very entertaining action sequences. This is more of the focus when the story hits its third act but it's worth the wait. Honestly for a Spongebob feature, seeing this much action never seemed like a possibility or interest the producers would ever want. Case in point, that was an incorrect assumption. A number of action sequences actually become quite inventive with how the conflict ensues. Well done. Phil Meheux's cinematography for the live-action scenes are also well constructed. Seeing that he was also the guy with the eye in The Mask of Zorro (1998),...which also had Antonio Banderas, seems only fitting. Much of the camera shots are well lit and wide enough to get a clear view of the scenery. John Debney, a composer who has previously scored multiple family comedy and action related films maintains his style by making the scenes appropriate where they need to be while including the Spongebob theme. Although there is one scene that doesn't belong to Debney which is where the film crew directly takes a snippet of Ennio Morricone's music from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). This is still fun though.

Spongebob's second big screen outing is rightfully made bigger and more profound. The animation is more spot on, the returning voice-actors / live-action performance from Banderas, action and comedy all work hand in hand to make a fun ride. Occasionally though, it does go out into left field a bit more than its predecessor.

Summary: This movie was so messed up... but I liked it anyway. 70/100 (B-)

Even though it's not even close to the awesomeness of the first movie, still a good movie. The animation was great and the jokes were funny enough. The whole audience was dying of laughter! There were a lot of strange and messed up moments in the movie, there was also a reference to "The Shining" and I was like: What the hell am I seeing? Anyway, this movie is anything but boring. I couldn't take my eyes of the screen, I was so entertained the whole running time. The first SpongeBob movie was already surreal and weird, this one... *sigh* has crossed the line.

The 3D was incredible, well done and eye-popping. There's a great action sequence near the end of the movie with the pirate involved (performed by Antonio Banderas), and it was so damn funny and fast-paced. On the downside, some repetitive jokes become tiresome as the running time goes, the above-water stuff was way too short and well... actually the whole movie was very short to me, I don't know why, this movie should be longer! Again, the whole above-water stuff that you can see in the trailer was actually 20% of the movie, seriously WTF, I wanted more.

I left the theater a bit unsatisfied. I felt like I just watched a movie that's 50 minutes long. Also, another of my issues was the ending, the songs in the ending were unnecessary and a little bit annoying. In addition, another issue was the villain. Antonio Banderas was great, but his character is not very well developed, he was a quite uninteresting villain. Leaving aside its flaws, I noticed one thing, the editing is really well done and even though it has some messed up moments the movie is never confusing because its premise is so short and easy to follow.

The editing makes the whole film more dynamic and easy to understand. So, in conclusion this SpongeBob movie is not even close to the 2004 film, but it has enough visuals and clever gags to satisfy the audience in general. The above-water sequences are so damn enjoyable, the 3D looks fantastic and there are a lot of moments in the movie that are so damn surreal and messed up! Think of an animated version of Interstellar. Also, I don't want to spoil it, but I'm just gonna say that first scene with the dolphin was so strange.

I'm pretty sure that a lot of people will dislike this film, mainly because of the ending, some annoying songs, the strangely uncomfortable moments and the shortness of the film. But to me, it is not a bad movie at all. I highly recommend it, especially if you're fan of the TV show. If you're going to see it, you must see it in 3D and on a huge screen. It is a pretty good spectacle. It is great that the movie took advantage of its 3D format, it looked great. Also, do not forget to see Squidward's dancing in the end credits, it will remind you to the old times. (B-)

Let me start off by saying, before I saw this movie, based on the trailers, my expectations were as low as they could possibly be. I was expecting this movie to be the nail in the coffin for the Spongebob franchise, and I was legitimately concerned that I would never see a good thing come from the series ever again. Boy was I wrong. Sponge Out of Water is an absolute TREAT for both old and new fans of the series alike, and the movie kept me entertained to the very end. The 2D animation is the best animation I have seen in a LONG time. I found every frame enjoyable, and it almost has a Ren and Stimpy like feel to it which made me appreciate it so much more. (If you ever watch/re-watch this movie, take a good look at the facial animations during the 2D parts, they're absolutely brilliant). Not only this, but the jokes and gags are hilarious, and only occasionally fall short, but when they do, they make sure to make up for it. (Listen for the "my leg!" recurring gag!). Also this movie is sure to leave you wondering "what will happen next?!" As you can never quite predict what the writers will throw out at you (others have compared this movie to an acid trip, and I don't want to spoil anything, but I found it a rather enjoyable one) The only thing I did not like was the "superpowers" part, (this was the part that turned me off in the first place) as I felt some of them tried "too hard" to make the audience laugh, and it just didn't feel like Spongebob. Thankfully this part only lasts about 20 minutes, and moves onto one of the greatest movie endings, tying it up all in a bow with a nice rap battle that came out of nowhere (Creators of Epic Rap Battles of History), and some interpretative dance from Squidward that parodies his famous dance moves from a previous episode. All in all, this movie would have been a 10/10 if Spongebob stayed anchored, and never had left the water. The live action visuals were impressive, but during those scenes, the comedy hit a dry spell until the last moments of the movie. If you're a long time fan of Spongebob, this is a great movie to relive your childhood a little bit more. (Hopefully the new season of the TV show will be just as good!) Go see this movie.

My assumption is people just say new spongebob sucks and automatically assume it sucks. Quite the contrary. They'd be pretty surprised to probably learn the original creator and writer came back to help make this movie. They used a lot of older humor and elements in general that made it feel like something from seasons 1-3. It was enjoyable to watch, and much better than I had expected.