If it's not a good game or catholic...who do you call? Why Pokematic "hi."
OK, so if you don't know by now, I'm a big Spongebob fan. I've been watching him since he premiered in 1999. Friday Night Nicktoons at my grandparents house. Those were the days. But yeah, I'm a major fan. I can recite entire episodes from memory. It occasionally freaks people out, and makes my mom say "you have to much time on your hands." Unfortunately I missed the first Spongebob Squarepants Move in theaters, but I watched it on home video (remember when it was called that) many times. And in general, I loved all that the series did. There were a couple of episodes in like season 9 that were just way to gross out, like the one where Spongebob got an infected splinter and it ended with him covering the Krusty Krab in puss, and the insult that was Truth or Square, but all in all it's great. So, how does Sponge out of Water fair?
I'll start off by saying, this is not primarily a hybrid film despite what the trailers imply. This is not primarily about Spongebob and the gang fighting a pirate that stole the Kraby Patty secret formula in the physical world. A majority of this film takes place under the sea, and in the same style as the series. The hybrid part lasts maybe 25 minutes of the 90 minute run time. The hybrid thing is just a marketing ploy because Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Smurfs were so popular. This is primarily a 2D animation movie. Now with that out of the way, I'll address the story.
OK, if you're going to see Spongebob, the story is not the most important thing, so spoiler warning, but the trailer kind of does that itself. So the movie opens up with a pirate finding this old book on Spongebob's island, the one at the beginning of the theme song. The book has a story about Spongebob and the Krabby Patty. It gives a 2 minute explanation of what Krabby Patties are and who Eugine Krabs, Plankton, and Spongebob are. This is not for the kids, they know who they are. This is for the parents that got dragged to the movie by their kids. It did a good job of quickly explaining who everyone is. So after the exposition, it opens up with Plankton trying to steal the formula, and there's a big war battle scene, where Spongebob and Patric are fighting off Plankton and his fighter plane with potatoes and other condiments. Hilarity ensues and it ends with Plankton "giving up," but losing was part of his strategy, because that's how he gets into the vault. He almost gets away with the formula, but then the formula just kind of vanishes. This throws Bikini Bottom into the post apocalyptic world that you see in all the trailers. Without the formula, there can't be Krabby Patties, and apparently a world without Krabby Patties is an apocalypse. Everyone immediately blames Plankton, but Spongebob comes to his aid because he knows he didn't do it. He was there when it vanished. So now it's up to them to try to get it back. I'll leave some up to the imagination and surprise though, because it's really quite funny.
But you aren't there for the compelling story, you're there for the nautical nonsense, because nautical nonsense be something you wish. And let me tell you, there is a lot of it. Spongebob this pulls out all the stops, and does a lot of things that they just don't have time for in the show. The whole "post apocalyptic world" thing was super hilarious, and how everyone was the same but different. Patric was a dim witted scout, Sandy was a nutty profit, so much. Then the crazy things Spongebob and Plankton do when trying to get the formula back from beyond is great. There's a whole lot of just laugh out loud hilarity. I don't want to spoil any of this, so just take my word for it.
Now characters is something I should address. These are the same characters that you will find in the show. Spongebob is still the loyal and naive sponge he is, Mr. Krabs is still the greedy business man, Squidward is still the "I don't care" grouch, Patric is still the buffoon, Sandy is still the smart one, and the secondary characters are still there to be secondary characters. Plankton is a little different, but that's just because he isn't the villain. He's still evil, and his helping out is all for selfish reasons, like he only wants the formula back to clear his name and live, but the, dare I say "friendship," he forms with the rest of the crew is quite new. The fact that everyone is still the same is really good because otherwise we would probably be rioting. The new villain, Burger Beard, fits perfectly well in the universe. In fact, it's reviled that he's been a part of the show all along. No spoilers though, you'll just have to watch and find out. It's a little annoying that we didn't have Pearl, Mrs. Puff, or Larry the Lobster, but they wouldn't have fit in the story anyways.
Now I feel like I have to mention that there are nods to the series. There are a lot of minor things that, don't contribute heavily to the story or humor, but are there for those that are long time followers and are well versed in the Spongebob events. One such thing is during the credits. I won't spoil what it is, but there's a reference to a season 1 episode that had me laughing quite hard. They also sneak in a famous line. If you're a fan of the series, you'll feel right at home.
Now as I briefly mentioned and the trailers point out constantly, there is some hybrid elements to this, where cartoon characters interact in the real world. This is nothing like Smurfs or Alvin and the Chipmunks where there's a lot of human interaction with the cartoons. It's really just another environment that they are in, and the humans are only aware of them to the extent that they can see them but think of them as some kind of animal. Additionally, the gang is only somewhat aware of what the humans are, except for Sandy, but she's a squirrel. The only major human/gang interaction is with Burger Beard, and that was a given because he's the villain. Even when they are "out of water," it still feels like they are underwater in terms of the antics and physics. Even if 25 minutes of hybrid sounds like to much, it really isn't. It's like when they went to Rock Bottom in terms of character confusion and never "integrating with the real world."
So, Sponebob Sponge out of Water, is down right amazing. Any fan of Spongebob should see it. I loved it. If you're a parent/nanny/babysitter and the kids want to see it, take them, they'll love it and you will enjoy it enough. My mom saw it with me and she thought it was pretty funny. Nothing she would actively try to see on her own, but enjoyed it enough to say she didn't hate it, unlike the Pokemon movies. You will laugh at some of the humor that's a little more high brow. I'd only really advise against it if you passionately hate Spongebob. And don't be embarrassed to see it as an adult. There was this tough guy in front of me in line, and he asked for "one for spongebob." If you grew up with Spongebob, there's no shame in it.
Well, this has been Pokematic, signing off, and bu-bye.
Oh, and I saw this in 2D. I don't know what the 3D was like, but I can see where 3D elements would have been used, especially in the hybrid section. OK. Bye.
No comments:
Post a Comment