SpongeBob - Fuori dall'acqua

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.

Spongebob Squarepants is one of the greatest animated television shows of all time. It sounds weird, but for some reason, it shaped the sense of humor of a generation and possibly one of the inspirations that helped exceed the imagination and creativity of many cartoon shows that came after. The show itself has been terrific in its first three seasons, but after its first feature film, it slowly loses its touch until every character becomes something else other than what they were once known for. This latest Spongebob film might be the end of its glory as it seemingly panders the audience into another lame Alvin and the Chipmunks/The Smurfs approach, but surprisingly that only becomes a marketing stunt, and it turns out that most of the movie is basically just like the show, but at its original form. It didn't need any grand or blockbuster type of plot to save the material, we just need to revisit the stuff that we truly loved about Spongebob.

Other than its creative animation and zany undersea world, Spongebob Squarepants has always been known for its richly established characters and unique sense of humor. I haven't seen the show in a while, specifically the newer episodes, but I do remember how the ones that followed season four have become paler incarnations of the show. This feature film, while stuck in posing as a typical family movie fare, is actually meant to stay loyal to what really defines this show. The characters have gone back to their classic personalities (Spongebob can now be reasonable again than just a complete goofball) and the humor is smartly priceless in an ultimately unhinged way. The film doesn't offer anymore bigger plot than retrieving the Krabby Patty secret formula, it's all about fooling at the audiences as it messes with the logic and their senses, the Spongebob way, of course.

The mix of animation and live-action is definitely never a stranger to Spongebob, but its involvement is often taken as a joke. Here, it's supposed to be its central idea. Though, it takes so long for them to get out of the water, in spite of its title, but when they do, it still sticks to its own surreal, extremely ludicrous style. But their welcoming antics up there felt forced, in comparison. The 3D stuff really exists to attract the viewers who thinks it's gonna be a cute adventure with the characters as silly superheroes, but it's mostly just a small payoff to those who have that expectation. It kind of cheats them, otherwise it's a cool trick for instead luring them to what makes this material so enjoyable. But we don't have to underestimate this approach too much, because apparently it's still pretty fun when they are in the real world, giving the humans some hilarious reactions, like the one who's wondering if the Krabby Patty he's eating is hallucinogenic after encountering the gang as superheroes.

As feature film goes, it doesn't go beyond bombastic, if it does then it's all about the weirdness instead of epic proportions. This is basically just like a new episode on a length of an actual movie. And the cast has always been great no matter what. Out of all the cartoons Tom Kenny has been, Spongebob will always be his best and he once again brings the lovable charm to the character. While Antonio Banderas makes a fun turn as the villain, but his moments are the one where he interacts to talking seagulls which amazingly works for this character.

The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water is what the fans deserve. Not sure how the newcomers would exactly react to it, but this movie fully represents the true spirit of the show. It would be a brilliant surprise to the ones who missed this great side of Spongebob. It didn't need any deeper sentiments or darkness (unless we're referring to its twisted humor, because it gets a little close to that.) Sure it's not the best episode ever either, but it has so many elements that remind us why we loved this show in the first place. The out-of-water scenes weren't as bad as many fans were worried about, it's just some randomly crazy addition to an already fun ride. Overall, it's more nostalgic than groundbreaking, I do hope this movie would be the salvation of this show. It won't change anyone's life or anything, we just like Spongebob to be Spongebob again and that's already given too much to a fan like me who grew up with the cartoon.

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.

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