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.

This movie wasn't as good as the original movie (mainly because it felt like an hour and a half long episode), but I have to admit that the comedy in this movie was 110% top notch and better than all of the episodes that came after the original movie. When I heard that Stephen Hillenburg returned for the movie, I was excited. However, I can definitely tell that his sense of humor has changed (not in a bad way, though)

For example, Seasons 1-3 (Golden Era of SpongeBob) had some adult humor, mixed in with cartoonish humor for the more kid-friendly side. The original movie was also as such.

Season 4-9 were just straight bland cartoons. Nothing really funny, just Spongebob and Patrick laughing annoyingly for a 30 minute time slot, with the plot being something either rehashed, or just straight bland or predictable.

This movie, however, was WAY different than anything SpongeBob related I've ever seen. The comedy that Stephen Hillenburg brought back to the table was very different than we've seen in Seasons 1-3. The jokes in this movie made me think I was watching a movie like Airplane or Top Gun, the jokes just being unpredictable in the stupidest way, which was extremely funny. For example, there's a part where Plankton tells SpongeBob "Wait! Hold your thoughts!" and SpongeBob is then seen, literally holding a thought bubble, just stupid unpredictable comedy like that. I appreciate that, and love that it is refreshing. There were also some suggestive themes in the movie, so the adult appeal is definitely back!

On the kid side, it was also EXTREMELY different than I've ever seen in SpongeBob. At first, I didn't like how over the top and WEIRD this film was on the kid friendlier side, but I stopped and realized that kids from 1999 and kids from 2015 are ENTIRELY different and have different appeals. After realizing this, all of the randomness and overall WEIRDNESS in this movie made sense. Instead of following the same boring and bland formula from seasons 4-9, someone in the writing staff must have finally said "Listen, we need to catch the appeal of kids today. If we're going to make kids interested in our show, we need to pull them in." and I have to say that it definitely did. I know what the kids are into these days (not trying to sound old), and SpongeBob definitely pulled it off in this new movie.

With an entirely different, hilarious, and refreshing comedy stance than seasons 1-3, and a huge attempt at actually appealing to kids of 2015 rather than following a bland formula, I have to say that Season 10 is going to be one of the best seasons since the show started. It will reel in kids again, as well as appealing to adults with classic humor and unpredictable comedy. I feel as if the entire show is going to be COMPLETELY different, and it will definitely be noticeable!

In a nutshell: Loved the movie, comedy was refreshing and hilarious, the kid friendlier side I thought was stupid, but you have to realize that kids in 2015 are different than kids from 1999.

It's been a decade since the first film, definitely a long wait for the fans. That film was a hit, but I don't know why it took so long for the second. Honestly, I loved this one too, albeit I'm not a die-hard fan, just a supporter. One of the beautiful cartoon universe with unique characters that can entertain all ages. The new addition, especially for this film only, the Antonio Banderas did his part wonderfully. Never seen before stunts in SpongeBob world that comes in the final battle.

Whenever I review an animation movie, I usually bring 2D and 3D animation topics to denote how the technology has transformed. 'Asterix' from France, 'Doraemon' from Japan, and recently America's own 'Mister Peabody' remodelled in 3D and saw tremendous success. So why not SpongeBob, but only for a small portion they have tried and it was awesome. Most importantly the story blended well with the twist in the character reformation.

This movie is in a second batch queue for the Oscar race, that mean a slim chance to get a nominee, but I don't think it will make. That does not mean the movie is bad, it was very good, so entertaining and super funny. Simply not an Oscar material, that's all. If anyone hasn't seen it yet, I absolutely suggest to try it out. I hope it won't take another 10 years for the next movie in the series.

8/10

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.

This is my first meeting with Spongebob, as I have never seen the show or the previous movie. I was somewhat familiar with it, as anyone exposed to internet popular culture would be, but not enough to know any of the characters by anything but looks. The movie did a great job in establishing everything I needed to know.

I loved how it combined cartoons, live action and CGI. It was flawless. And I was amazed that they dared to have so much of the movie in plain old hand animation. I enjoyed the plot, but I sometimes wished they would have made it a bit more complex, as that could safely have been done without making it harder to understand for children.

The first part of the movie seems like what could have been a regular episode, with small Banderas-breaks in between. The latter part is the fish out of water-story, which could probably have worked just as well without the build up from the first part.

I'm sure children loves this movie, and if you're open to silly characters breaking the fourth wall, you'll have no trouble watching it with them.