Barnes & Noble

If the films based on Saturday Night Live sketches have taught us anything, it is that the expansion in running time from ten minutes to feature length can drain the life out of a character. Not so with cartoon star SpongeBob Squarepants, who remains ever buoyant and absorbing in his big-screen debut, which gleefully captures the unsinkable lunacy of Nickelodeon's signature franchise. Consider the wholly gratuitous live action prologue, in which a band of pirates excitedly open a treasure chest that contains a magnificent booty: tickets to the SpongeBob Squarepants Movie. As they set a course for the theater, they sing the SpongeBob theme. The rest of the film rides the giddy crest of that wave as our yellow and porous hero embarks on a Tolkienean quest to retrieve the crown of King Neptune (regally voiced by Jeffrey Tambor). The evil Plankton, following "Plan Z," has stolen said crown and framed his restaurateur archrival, Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob's miserly and avaricious employer. Though Krabs has passed over SpongeBob for a deserved promotion, nothing dampens SpongeBob's spirits. Determined to prove he is not just a kid, he leaves Bikini Bottom, accompanied by his faithful starfish friend Patrick and watched over by Neptune's compassionate daughter, Mindy (Scarlett Johansson), who plays Blue Fairy to SpongeBob's Pinocchio. Longtime SpongeBob viewers will lament the scant screen time of crabby Squidward and Sandy Cheeks. And stricter parents may carp at the crude humor, but it's nothing kids haven't giggled over in the Captain Underpants books. One sequence, in which SpongeBob, captured by a purveyor of nautical tchotchkes, slowly dehydrates, may disturb younger viewers. But helping to keep the movie afloat is Alec Baldwin in menacing voice as Dennis, whom Plankton has hired to squash the Sponge. And all hail David Hasselhoff, appearing big as life as his Baywatch self. In all its sublime silliness, The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie provides all the nautical nonsense anyone could wish for. Donald Liebenson

All Movie Guide

Something nefarious is afloat in the depths of Bikini Bottom: King Neptune's crown has been stolen, and the prime suspect is Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob's boss at Mr. Krabs' Krabby Patties. Despite the overwhelming evidence against Mr. Krabs -- not to mention having been turned down for a long-awaited promotion at the restaurant -- SpongeBob (voice of Tom Kenny) refuses to believe that his boss is responsible and teams up with his best friend, Patrick (voice of Bill Fagerbakke), on a mission to Shell City, where he hopes he can exonerate Mr. Krabs and return the crown to its rightful owner. Of course, this is no easy task; once outside the safety of Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob is faced with the overwhelming dangers of the sea, not the least of which being a cyclops that many believe to be responsible for the deaths of countless other unfortunate sea-creatures who ventured outside county lines. Among those who lent their vocal chords to the film include Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Tambor, and Alec Baldwin. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Product Details

• UPC: 097360274349
• Source: PARAMOUNT
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1)
• Presentation: Pan & Scan
• Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français, Español
• Subtitles: English
• Time: 1:27:00
• Sales Rank: 4,865

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