Thursday, February 19, 2015

The Critical Frog- The Spongebob Movie- Sponge Out Of Water

Who lives in a standard housing subsidy?
(Frog the critic!)
Absorbed in critiquing and gaming is he!
(Frog the critic!)
If reviewing all film is something you wish,
(Frog the critic!)
Then the frog's weekly review is your kind of dish!
(Frog the critic!)
Frog the critic! Frog the critic! Frog the critic!
Frog theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee criticccccc!
(Dootdoodoodoododoododoo!)

Watching Sponge Out Of Water is a strange experience. It would stall for a bit, the jokes not really going anywhere or getting big laughs (not even from the kids in the audience) and then WHAM! Good one-liner or slapstick. Rather than try to spread out the funny here from beginning to end, they seem to have condensed the best bits of comedy into a few short bursts- which is fine, if the bursts are good.

And indeed they are: in fact, this is really surprising to see considering the horrors modern Spongebob has brought us. Speaking of which, have you noticed how good the 2D animation is in this film? It's surprisingly cool.

I don't quite see why this film had to be called "The Spongebob Movie"- there was already "The Spongebob Squarepants Movie" a few years back (complete with jokes about getting drunk, underwear and David Hasselhoff)- Does anybody really need to know that the film "Sponge Out Of Water" is about Spongebob when he takes up 4/5 of the poster?

The plot of the film is simple: During a routine struggle for the famous Krabby Patty formula (the secret ingredients to make the tastiest burgers in the world) between Spongebob and his enemy Plankton, the formula disappears into thin air. This somehow prevents the restaurant Spongebob works at (the Krusty Krab) from making new patties, and this somehow drives the entire town of Bikini Bottom (heh) into a savage, post-apocalyptic environment. So it's up to Spongebob and his friends (and Plankton) to find the missing formula.

Our team for the evening consists of Spongebob, his dim-witted friend Patrick, Squidward the squid (who seems to be the show's beating stick), greedy Mr. Krabs, Plankton, and Sandy,  a squirrel from Texas who has developed a breathing suit to allow her to stay underwater.

An aroma leads them to Burgerbeard, a live-action pirate who has stolen the formula. But how are they going to get it back from a giant pirate? The answer I dare not reveal, unless you've seen the trailer, in which case it's quite obvious.

OVERALL RATING: 6.5-7/10
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At the end of the day, it's still a kid's film- but a decent one at that. As I mentioned, a lot of the jokes fall flat, but when they work, they REALLY work (I personally enjoyed that when the apocalypse comes, everyone is in Mad Max attire). It's quite hit-or-miss, but the decent jokes, fun action scenes and nice animation (despite the trippy time travel bits) carry it to fun levels. At the very least, I'd say it's harmless. Go ahead, bring the kids to it.

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