869. The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie (2004)

Starring: Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, David Hasselhoff

Director: Stephen Hillenburg, Mark Osborne

Running Time: 87 mins

The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie is an American film based on the TV show, following SpongeBob and Patrick on their epic quest to retrieve King Neptune’s crown within six days in order to save Mr. Krabs’ life and prevent the evil Plankton from becoming ruler of their hometown Bikini Bottom.

This film is so insane and full of great fun that keeps you laughing at every second throughout. It may not be as riotously crazy as the TV series, but it’s near impossible to reach those heights in an hour and a half-long film, however it still compensates for that with a simple but really fun story that’s both exciting and engaging to watch.

I’ll start with the comedy, which is excellent here. Basically, if you’ve seen the show, you’ll know how crazy the whole thing is, and although this film tries to ramp up the stakes to eleven, it doesn’t necessarily do that with the comedy, however the jokes are still so consistently funny for the entire duration that you’ll be laughing the whole way through.

Also, it’s not as if the comedy here is that annoying, as some people feel the show is. Instead, the jokes here are a lot lighter than the TV show, and often more reliant on slapstick than some of the more intelligent stuff fans will be used to, however that does make for very relaxing watching, which makes this a film that can really be enjoyed without every becoming frustrating or irritating.

In terms of the story, it’s incredibly simple and in effect requires very little concentration, and yet it’s still really engaging and exciting to watch. Of course, a lot of that comes down to the brilliant characters, and the excellent chemistry between SpongeBob and Patrick, however the whole epic journey part, where the two overcome so many huge obstacles is actually really exciting.

What’s more is that the main bulk of this film, which largely involves SpongeBob and Patrick walking to ‘Shell City’ to get the crown, has this weird feel of isolation. Of course, it’s not dark or anything, but the fact that you genuinely feel that there is a real danger for our two main heroes turns some parts of the journey into some hugely exciting and thrilling sequences.

Finally, this film is also notable for being one of the few movies that has ever made me cry. I’ve seen it at least ten times as of now probably, and there’s one scene in there which always brings tears to my eyes, which is just testament to how engaging the story here is and how successful it is in making these guys two characters that you can really care about.

Overall, this gets an 8.0, because it’s just so funny and pleasant to watch, and it has a massively entertaining story that keeps you engrossed for the entire duration.