The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run Upholds Inherent Lunacy of Beloved Series

By Thom Ernst

Rating: B

I have never been an avid viewer of the SpongeBob SquarePants show, yet I arrived at the opinion that if I were to commit to watching an entire episode, I would be a fan. There’s inherent lunacy to SpongeBob SquarePants that gives it a seditious appeal. It just looks like the kind of show I would enjoy.

So, I come to The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run as an informed novice; I recognize the central characters, SpongeBob (Tom Kenny), Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke), Squidward (Roger Bumpass), and Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown), and I can sing the first few lines of the theme song.

I gather there are SpongeBob disciples who can better address whether Sponge On the Run offers anything that the series hasn’t already played out. For me, it is all original even though the influence of SpongeBob has long lived on the peripheral of my pop-culture knowledge.

This third feature-length outing for the dedicated, hard-working fry-cook has SpongeBob and Patrick leaving Bikini Bottom for The Lost City of Atlantic City. They are off to rescue Gary, SpongeBob’s pet snail, from the vain, cosmetically aware Poseidon (Matt Berry). It seems snail slime is a perfect skin-care ointment, but since Poseidon has run through the ocean’s entire supply of snails, he needs Gary.

Writers Tim Hill, Jonathan Aibel, and Glenn Berger keep the story simple. It works as a buddy road movie (as is Patrick’s argument) and as a hero’s quest (as SpongeBob argues). Either way, there is not a lot of twists and turns complicating matters, save for one outrageous side-trip.

The movie reaches its apex about midway through when SpongeBob and Patrick end up in an Old West Ghost Town (literally). It is here director Tim Hill breaks free from television mode and becomes cinematic. Hill opens the story to a few surprises, including the appearance of Keanu Reeves as a Christ-like tumbleweed named Sage.

Aside from Reeves, Sponge on the Run is not driven by cameos, which tend to overpopulate shows that cross over from television to film. Still, there are some impressive names that pop in to add a bit of celebrity charm.

But after the Old West scene, the film has nowhere to go. By comparison, the second half feels uninspired, chugging along on the strength of its appeal to a dedicated fan base.

SpongeBob ranks as a madcap farce typified by the Bugs Bunny, Tex Avery, and Woody Woodpecker Shows. It is zany, but not quite as insane as the criminally underrated Uncle Grandpa (Where is my Uncle Grandpa Movie!?), nor is it as subversively adult as South Park, Family Guy or even The Simpsons. Its humour is decidedly innocent but with enough of a lunatic edge to find a home in college dorms.

There is a sad, but poignant footnote to all of this: The mad genius behind SpongeBob is Stephen Hillenburg. Hillenburg cites the films of famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau as having a substantial influence on him, which would account for the show’s sea-based characters and references. He also once worked as a fry-cook.

Hillenburg died in November 2018 at the age of 57 due to complications of Lou Gehrig’s disease. Sponge on the Run is dedicated to his memory.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run. Directed by Tim Hill. Voice Cast Tom Kenny, Awkwafina, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass, Bill Fagerbakke, Carolyn Lawrence, Douglas Lawrence, and Reggie Watts. Opens in Canadian theatres August 14th.