In the film, a pirate named Burger-Beard (Antonio Banderas) finds a magical book that holds one of the tales of SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) and his friends. In the book, the head of the Chum Bucket, Plankton (Doug Lawrence), is trying to steal the krabby patty formula used to make the best burgers in Bikini Bottom. However, when SpongeBob catches Plankton, the formula magically vanishes in their hands. Without the formula, krabby patties are unable to be produced and Bikini Bottom becomes completely chaotic. The sea life gang discovers that Burger-Beard has ripped out the last page of the book, getting the formula to himself. They now must find a way back to our universe to get the formula back and bring the krabby patty back to the citizens of Bikini Bottom.
Unlike the animation of the first movie keeping the characters in a 2D style, this movie brings SpongeBob and his friends into our universe with 3D computer animation. Using this to their advantage the animators now make the character look more realistic, while keeping their cartoonish figures.
One of the best things about this movie is the shenanigans our hero’s get into when they come into our universe. In the first film, they also came to our universe, but unlike “Sponge out of Water” the first movie only had them meet David Hasselhoff and escape a fish souvenir shop.
The comedy in the film also is quite decent despite the show losing some of its comedy, replaced by mild violence and disturbing imagery. The movie makes the characters feel more fleshed out and like they used to be before slight changes were made to their personalities.
With the good things in shining in this film there are still some issues that don’t make this movie as good as the first film. Most of the film is set in Bikini Bottom where less of the entertaining moments are abundant. This is also a disappointment as most of the commercialism surrounding the film mostly shows them when they are on land. Another issue is the music in the film feels a little sloppy and aren’t as good as “I’m A Goofy Goober,” and many other songs from the first film.
Though this movie probably would’ve been better released as a summer blockbuster, this film doesn’t displease and brings fans of the show what they like to the big screen. If you are a fan of SpongeBob and his whacky adventures, this movie is for you. “SpongeBob the Movie: Sponge out of Water” gets the rating of 4.2/5.
