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Sponge on the Run Official Discussion


Jinjo

Movie Rating  

9 members have voted

  1. 1. How would you rate this movie?

    • 5/5 Stars
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    • 4/5 Stars
      4
    • 3/5 Stars
      2
    • 2/5 Stars
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    • 1/5 Stars
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Since the movie is out in Canada, I figured I'd make this now for any Canadian users that see it (or if you're shady, non-Canadian users that find other ways to see it). Please note that since not everyone will be able to see this, be sure to mark any potential spoilery things in spoiler tags.

Reviews:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/filmchat/2020/08/review-the-spongebob-movie-sponge-on-the-run-dir-tim-hill-2020.html

https://nowtoronto.com/movies/review-the-spongebob-squarepants-movie-is-baffling

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/reviews/article-spongebob-squarepants-sponge-on-the-run-is-straightforward-and-not-as/

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Giving this a bump since this is now available on international Netflix. US still will be waiting until early 2021 for it on Paramount+. If anyone lives in an area where it's now on Netflix, feel free to discuss it here as well. (or finds another way, ar ar ar)

Another review:

https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a34583844/spongebob-sponge-on-the-run-netflix-review/ 

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Well, seeing as the movie was released on Netflix today and I wanted something to distract myself from my uni work in my head I ended up watching Sponge on the Run today and well...for what it is, I liked it quite a lot.

Quite frankly, I'd be lying if I said that the story wasn't lackluster - perhaps since I'm not really interested in corny-ass kids' flicks that emphasis "The Power of Friendship" all the bloomin' time but the movie had genuine moments where I did laugh quite a bit. The movie can be genuinely funny.

And the visuals! Oh, the beautiful, beautiful visuals! I just want to gush about the animation in this thing for ages because LORRRRRRD I love it so, so, so much. I would recommend this movie based on visuals alone quite frankly. It's so interesting to look at alone. Odd thing is there were definitely moments where looking at it I'd swear it looks like stop motion, and some of the fish look like they come from a SpongeBob Robot Chicken sketch. Not to say anything negative by that at all, because the movements of all the characters is so enjoyable to watch. And the COLOURS! EEEEEE!!!!

Spoiler

In terms of more specific things though...

I do not care for the live-action "dream sequence" at all. Nope. Nada. Cut it all out. Unlike the previous movies, which incorporate the live-action segments into the storytelling, this one just...exists, seemingly just to be in line with those other movies. And while those movies also had their fair share of outlandishness they were still ultimately relevant to the story, whereas here I didn't really see the point and was tempted to skip the entire thing because oof...the moment the dance sequence began I could've sworn I was thrown into watching a music video instead. While I understand it's supposed to be outlandish and exaggerated in nature it just didn't mesh right with me and threw me out of the experience of watching the movie.

Also do not care for Keanu Reeve's Sage character, either. Especially since he was more prominent in the movie than I'd assumed he was from the trailers. Can't say I hate him since he wasn't really that major a character but...yeah, he could be cut too and not much would be lost, in my opinion.

The Kamp Koral flashbacks were...fine, I guess? They were definitely hamfisted in there and even without the fact that the spin-off surrounding it exists it still comes off as padding to me. I like the pay-off it has in the third act, though, when everybody talks about how much SpongeBob means to them.

The music usage in this film...was somewhat worthy of an eyeroll, or at least where the use of pop songs that already exist is concerned. I mean SpongeBob and Patrick singing pieces of Livin la Vida Loca whilst enjoying the city? Maybe Shrek 2's use of it and the popularity that particular instance garnered is at fault here but I just kinda like "whut the hell...?" I will say, Take on Me for the ending? YES. Also love the cover for it here, it was just perfect to me.

Also love that it seems that the movie has its fair share of references to the show. The Chum Bucket in particular was where I noticed a lot. Might be other places I didn't quite catch though.

Otherwise...I liked everything else. The plot was nice. Definitely feels like the movie retreads a lot of what the show's already done here but it's still enjoyable.

Also SpongeBob says "crappy" in this movie and I enjoyed it a lot so points for that.

 

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I actually did make a review for this movie on Letterboxd after I watched it. Now keep in mind, I did have a lot to say about this movie:

Spoiler

YOU MOTHERUCKERS! IF YOU HAD WORN YOUR MASKS AND TAKEN THIS COVID SHIT SERIOUSLY WE WOULD BE SEEING THE SEXINESS OF SPONGEBOB AND TUMBLEWEED KEANU ON THE BIG SCREEN! BUT NOOOO! YOU DUMBASSES DECIDED TO BE IGNORANT FUCKS AND NOW THAT SMUG BITCH CANADA GETS TO SEE THIS IN THEATERS! DO YOU KNOW HOW EXCITED I WAS TO SEE A MOVIE I COULD JERK OFF TO IN THEATERS? SEEING CGI SPONGEBOB ON THE BIG SCREEN WOULD HAVE RELEASED A WAVE OF WET AND WHITE GOODNESS ON A SCALE NO ONE HAS SEEN BEFORE, BUT YOU DICKHEADS FUCKED US ALL OVER! I FUCKING HATE YOU ALL!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, that wasn't my actual review. You'll have to click on the next spoiler for that.

Spoiler

You'd think in the time of misery us Americans are in right now, this optimistic yellow sponge would bring in some positivity. Unfortunately, this movie felt more generic than it was positive. It's not that it's horrible, it's that it doesn't even try to be its own thing like the two other movies were. The first SpongeBob movie was a true classic. The second one wasn't better but at least I can see the appeal to it. This movie right here feels nothing more than a boring 80 minute advertisement of the upcoming SpongeBob spin-off, Kamp Koral.

 

"Uninspired" is probably the best word to describe this movie. Whatever's been done in this movie was done better in other SpongeBob movies and episodes. SpongeBob and Patrick going on a road trip to save something that's been stolen by a villain? Sounds like the first movie to me. A famous celebrity coming to SpongeBob and Patrick's aid? Sounds like the first movie to me. The plot around Gary going missing? That was already done before in "Have You Seen This Snail" and done much better there than here.

 

What about the jokes? The main source of animated comedies themselves? I may not expect any clever writing us 20-something year old shitposters loved from the first movie, but I was expecting to find some amusing jokes here and there. Instead, most of it came from the show's usual schtick (Squidward hates his neighbors, Mr. Krabs likes money, Patrick is dumb, stuff the show has made entirely clear through the whole series) and a lot of those jokes just fell flat on their faces. And believe it or not, those weren't the only worst jokes of the movie. I'll explain in the next paragraph.

 

Pop culture references. I'd expect to see them in some live-action/animated franchise movies like "Alvin & the Chipmunks" (which was also directed by Tim Hill) or "The Smurfs". Never in my life did SpongeBob imply that Skype and Facetime (yes, those were both name-dropped in the movie) existed in-universe until now. Not only that but the movie seemed to utilize non-original songs like "Slow Ride" and "Livin' la Vida Loca". Knowing all this sadly makes the Alvin/Smurfs comparisons truer. But hey, it could've been worse. They could've shoehorned in a joke about Patrick misunderstanding the game "Rock Band".

 

Although shockingly how this was the least of the problems I've had with this movie, it simply wouldn't be a negative review without acknowledging the continuity errors this movie and its future spin-off made. It implies that SpongeBob was already friends with Sandy before "Tea at the Treedome" and that Mr. Krabs and Plankton met before "Friend or Foe" (which was an episode director/writer Tim Hill actually wrote). Though the series itself was never really one to obey continuity so I'll give it a pass for now.

 

But you know what is the most disappointing thing about this movie? It could've had a chance to be tolerable. It wouldn't be mindblowing or anything but it certainly could've been a stand-out when it came to Tim Hill's other films like "Alvin", "Hop", and "Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas". I had a small spot of hope considering he wrote this too and previously wrote for episodes of Rocko, SpongeBob, and the first SpongeBob movie. Clearly lightning didn't strike twice. The final draft felt rushed and the pacing of the film went by too fast, I felt completely lost by the end of it. At least the first two had some kind of buildup to the plot and made more sense than this.

 

I'm not gonna act like the movie was totally irredeemable though. Here are some highlights:
- The animation actually looks nice. Kudos to the studio and the animators behind it.
- The Hans Zimmer score in the movie is great.
- It was nice that they dedicated the movie to Stephen Hillenburg in the credits. They may not have respected the creator's wishes but at least they're still respecting the creator.
- Snoop Dogg. He could literally be in any bad movie and still be the best part of that movie. He's up there with Will Smith in terms of likability where you just can't hate him no matter how embarrassing his role is.

 

But that's all I'm gonna give this movie credit for. Overall, it's a giant mess and not a particularly great mess either. There will probably be some kids out there who will enjoy it but I certainly expect more from a SpongeBob movie than bright lights and celebrity cameos.

 

EDIT: Oh yeah, one thing I forgot to mention in my review, THEY USED WEEZER'S COVER OF TAKE ON ME?! THOSE FUCKING FUCK FUCKERS USED A LAZY ASS COVER OF ONE OF THE BEST '80S SONGS IN THIS EXCUSE OF A MOVIE?! FUCK THIS MOVIE AND FUCK YOU TOO, WEEZER.

 

 

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Good movie, honestly liked it better than Sponge Out of Water, and to be honest, I'm willing to accept this movie as an alternate timeline compared to the one of the main series. 

Spoiler

The Kamp Koral stuff and that one moment where Sandy got a little touchy with SpongeBob compared to anyone else who has having a flashback to Kamp Koral which I will admit, felt forced with some characters, even if this is an alternate timeline.

Maybe for Patrick wasn't because I don't recall them ever meeting, they've only ever flashed back to them being kids, but it's not clarified when that was, whether it was when Kamp Koral would be taking place or after. For Sandy, it definitely did feel forced and was my least favorite flashback, the one with Squidward thought I felt was cute, and there was no definite way Squidward met SpongeBob and Patrick, the only thing I can recall is the flashback in Truth or Square where SpongeBob moved in one day while Patrick was already there but this was obviously a long time after Kamp Koral so that is kinda up to question, but anyways, the one with Mr. Krabs was fairly short surprisingly but it made somewhat sense that he appeared older than the rest of them in what we did see.

Back on Sandy getting touchy with SpongeBob though as I mentioned earlier, I really am opposed to the idea of this but in an alternate timeline, I guess it's fine, although I still am not too much of a fan of it. I know Im mentioning the idea of this being a different timeline in SpongeBob a lot because of the huge aspects of the show that were sort of changed in this movie, and that isn't confirmed, I know.

However... King Poseidon is a big contribution to this, since there was never a King Poseidon in the show before this movie, and only a King Neptune. Both designs. King Neptune being different in the movie, which I do know why that was, but honestly leads me to think more about how the movies don't all take place in the same timeline but that's off-topic.  

King Poseidon himself though as the antagonist I guess, a bit of a stretch of that term but whatever, is... one of the weirder characters. His portrayal as a true villain enslaving snails and making their population deplete all for his selfish need to have his face look good all the time set the mood for him to be, well, a villain. The same goes for when he set for SpongeBob and Patrick to be executed for trying to take Gary away from him, but his sudden change in his ways near the end of the movie was a bit jarring. 

Although, I will admit, from that point on, it was that one corny scenario where all the villain needed was a friend and someone to tell him that people will still like him the way he is and doesn't have to be fake and everyone who once was against him is his buddy now. Sounds very stale and run down of an ending, yeah, I wasn't too big on it.

But one thing changed that, what I didn't expect was for everyone to get a snail to themselves in Bikini Bottom once the snails were freed, I thought that'd honestly go nowhere, but to see everyone in Bikini Bottom having fun with their new snails some new snail friends for SpongeBob and Gary, and the final shot of the movie: the Bikini Bottom sign with a poster under it saying snail refugee, got to me. I don't care how corny the rest of the ending was, that made it for me. When a SpongeBob movie ends with something extraordinary happening to Bikini Bottom or SpongeBob, it always puts a smile on my face. This reason is why I don't particularly favor in Sponge Out of Water having everything go back to normal, for the most part.

Before I end this spoiler tag, I'm gonna mention the music because the surprise of the choices for the artists for the movie's soundtrack is one I do not what to ruin. 

The Weezer song at the beginning, It's Always Summer in Bikini Bottom, I love it so much man, such a catchy song. Gives me some vibes of the first movie's soundtrack, which if you know me, I adore. The song with Snoop Dogg, which was hilarious when I saw him appear in the movie, I didn't get too good of a listen to mainly because I was watching in a call with some friends and we were collectively losing it over Snoop Dogg being in the movie, so I can't say much about that. Agua and Krabby Step, the two songs that played at the end of the credits by J Balvin and Tainy for Agua and Swae Lee, Tyga, and Lil Mosey for Krabby Step respectively, are honestly some bops. I don't normally like reggaeton so Im surprised I liked it as much as I did, however I do love me some trap rap, so I liked Krabby Step too. These are still very surprising choices of artists for a SpongeBob movie though, however it strikes me as funny, but doesn't make the songs they produced for the movie any less of quality than they are. 

To top it off, the final song that plays at the credits is what sounds like a jazz rendition of Gary Come Home. That one got me too. Very nice...

...and as expected, the animation is superb and very close to Season 1's animation which is a huge highlight of this movie, and I very much prefer it compared to the CG animation of Sponge Out of Water which is a lot more stiff in comparison. The jokes are pretty funny too, I laughed at a lot of them.

Overall it's a very cute and fun movie for fans of the show. Mainly for the newer crowd but those who appreciated the older seasons a lot more than the new episodes can appreciate this too. First one remains undefeated however, 4/5.✌️ 

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SO!

It released first in Canada. I didn't actually go and watch it at a Cineplex theatre, as I thought it was inevitable I would find a mediocre/horrible quality rip somewhere (but I was wrong). FINALLY Netflix drops it...but not in the US in Canada, so yarr harr. Kind of thankful I didn't go pay the money to watch it and risk my health and life (for reasons which I'll explain below). Overall though...a pretty nice movie that's definitely more oriented for tweens or new fans of the show, and it kind of just gives off an alternate timeline. I'd give it a 7 or 7.5 out of 10! The following contains spoilers.

Spoiler

Okay, let me get this out of the way: the Kamp Koral scenes literally do not make ANY difference to the narrative. If you were to take them out, and instead reanimate/reimagine other moments regarding Gary that would work with the HYSTS-esque element of the plot and put them in these Kamp Koral scenes, it would make the movie maybe 10 times better. I don't have anything truly against Kamp Koral the show because it's meant to be for younger kids and just be friendly, but once again, if that was out of this movie, I'd love it a lot more.

Since I mentioned HYSTS, that's another thing. This movie, when you don't take Kamp Koral into account, is basically just elements from the first movie and elements from HYSTS mushed together. I don't hate that at all, but it still just makes you still think that this should've been a TV special or on Netflix from the start.

The live action stuff was kind of weird and entertaining at the same time. Keanu Reeves being a tumbleweed is so odd and I would've never expected that to be in a SpongeBob movie, but here we are (honestly, this whole movie feels like it should be watched while you're high or something. Maybe once I'm 19...?). The weird zombie ghost people dancing was odd, and Danny Trejo as El Diablo was also odd, but Snoop Dogg was kinda funny to see (Ayo, SpongeBob!).

That's all of my iffiness and critique of the movie, honestl—WAIT!!! Fuck Poseidon, what a weird guy. How could you literally use the snails for face cream and then dump them into a dungeon slaving away? Come to think of it, this movie can seem really dark for kids at some points. It astonishes me how it has a G rating in basically every province in Canada that had a Cineplex except Alberta, where it was PG. Another sidenote, I'm losing track on how the government/royal family of the sea and Bikini Bottom works, but once again—this is basically an alternate timeline movie and we kind of have to accept that. There's also little continuity in the show, so...yeah.

BUT...ENOUGH ABOUT ALL OF THAT. HAVE YOU SEEN HOW THIS FUCKING MOVIE LOOKS????????? HOLY SHIT. I want to marry every single person who did the animating and scenery design at Mikros Montréal. HOLY fucking shit, holy fuck. HAVE YOU SEEN THE LOST CITY'S DESIGN ESPECIALLY????????????????????????????????????????? I have to catch myself. It feels like a crazy, ray-traced video game, and honestly, they should make an open-world game based on this world. It'd be beautiful. I literally can't stop thinking about how good the movie looks because it's been ingrained into my head.

And this movie did make me laugh a lot. Not as much as the first and second movies, but it still was funny. Overall, it's just a chill, friendly, and visually stunning movie to watch, when you forget about Kamp Koral or the rehashes. Another quick thing, the Weezer songs were kinda weird but the ending theme song remix and Krusty Krab trap remix made up for it. Also, SpongeBob and Patrick singing Livin' La Vida Loca was so odd but happy to see.

Anyways, that's my review and thoughts on it. SpongeBob Movie 4 coming soon where they redo the first movie but all in CGI and in 8K with elements from Kamp Koral 2!

EDIT: SPONGEBOB ALSO SAID CRAPPY, MAYBE IT'S A 10/10!!!!!!

 

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I shockingly didn't hate this, but I also went in with a nadir of expectations so maybe that helped. It's not great, and it still has its issues (ie it rehashes a few elements from the first two movies without too much of a unique spin), but overall, I enjoyed watching it for the most part. I wasn't bored, so there's that, even if the plot felt aimless at times. If nothing else, the animation absolutely carried this. It looked genuinely nice to watch and the style really grew on me the more time passed. The Kamp Koral segments were kinda dumb and pointless, but they barely take up more than 6 minutes of the film so they aren't worth any vitriol. It's definitely the weakest of the three movies for me, but maybe as time passes I'll grow on this some more as I didn't exactly love SOOW when it was first released either. In the end, this was a safe, inoffensive adventure, and I'm okay with that. 

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I didn't like it.

I adored the animation- the lighting is absolutely beautiful and I'm still floored that they bothered to keep Spongebob animated on 2's and include smears. The art direction is extremely faithful to the series. I still think 2d animation for the underwater scenes would've been preferable, but I think we lost that battle a while ago.

I liked a lot of the references to the series and the various cameos and easter eggs. I thought some of the jokes were really funny, and in some scenes Sponge and Pat had a degree of maturity and wit not seen in the series since Hillenburg stopped showrunning.... but that's about it. The plot was a complete mess, with an incoherent live action sequence in the middle. Story structure was thrown to the wayside and for the first time in a SpongeBob movie i can honestly say I got the impression the writers didn't care very much.

The Kamp Koral segments were cute, and aside from the whole debate on if Steve would've approved of it or not (there's a lot of post-revisionism going on), they just felt shoehorned in. They could've wove them into the story into a far more natural way. Some of the humor was really funny! But about half of the jokes really didn't land, and there's a weird reliance on pop culture references (and references to Skype, Facetime) that feel.... decidedly un-Spongebob, part of the IP's appeal is a sense of timelessness.'

That's not even getting into the overuse of pop music. I have nothing against these songs, and Weezer's 'Take on Me' cover was cute, but again... it feels decidedly un-Spongebob.Steve notoriously resisted the use of pop music in the original movie and only included bands he was a fan of in it's soundtrack, so this feels like a betrayal.

Ultimately, I think this movie was a massive disappointment. Since the announcement of the switch to computer animation, and the Kamp Koral spin-off, I went in with low expectations, but I was hopeful. The animation was way better than I expected and the first trailer was okay. But I was still let down.

This movie ends with a dedication to Steve and I found myself questioning if it really felt like a faithful extension of the show. This is the first time a piece of Spongebob movie has felt like someone's interpretation of the series, rather than something that naturally exists within it.

I think it's time for me to admit to myself that this franchise is no longer for me. I love the art and expressions in the newer, Vincent run episodes, but aside from that they ring hollow for me. I think what appealed to me about Spongebob has long since gone. I honestly think Viacom should've taken Steve's passing as a bit of an omen. They may think SpongeBob can be their MCU, but the series's characters and dynamics only work bouncing off of eachother. It's a very tight, creatively-restricting universe. I really don't think Spongebob is like Looney Tunes or Scooby Doo, it's a singular personal vision.

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this is really an aside so I'll keep this as a separate post, but I feel like this is the kind of movie Viacom wanted the first two movies to be. Constant pop culture references and celebrities, an overuse of pop music, computer animation.

This is the kind of movie Steve and the others (mostly) resisted.

I don't know what went on, but I wonder if Viacom saw Steve's passing as an excuse to continually milk the franchise even more.

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Okay, now that I got Paramount+, I was able to see this movie and give my thoughts on it...

Spoiler

It was decent. I wouldn't say it was as good as the last two movies, but I still enjoyed it, and many scenes had me really laughing.

Okay, let's just get this part out of the way regarding the Camp Coral. I know I've already been vocal about my dislike of Kamp Koral, and this was the part of the movie I was dreading the most. But honestly, I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would. SpongeBob as a little kid was obviously adorable. And I have to say that I've realized that I prefer the designs of the kid characters in this movie than the ones used in the Kamp Koral series, probably because they both look and sound believable as younger versions of the characters (I guess it helps that they are all voiced by child actors here). Of course, I'd be lying if I said I didn't roll my eyes and groan at the flashbacks because I still kinda view it as a middle finger to the history left by the series. But I admittedly enjoyed the one with Patrick since his origin with SpongeBob is the only one we don't really know as opposed to the others. I'm glad it wasn't the entire focus of the movie like I thought it would be.

Alright, while I still prefer the 2D animation used in the previous two movies, the animation in this movie is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. All the little details I noticed in certain scenes was amazing. You could tell, they really worked hard on this, and it paid off.

A few drawbacks I would say this movie has is that it really drags at certain points. The beginning I thought was kinda slow and it took a bit to get the plot moving, and that whole shared dream sequence just came out of nowhere and really dragged on. I feel they could've just taken that whole part out and nothing would've been different. Though there were a few moments that were funny such as SpongeBob and Patrick dancing along with the pirate cowboy ghosts, and them killing Danny Trejo's character by burning him with the sun.

I feel like the movie's strongest point was the third act when SpongeBob and Patrick were on trial, and all their friends were sharing their stories of why they all love SpongeBob. I'm not gonna lie, I totally cried during that scene, especially when Sandy and Squidward gave their speeches. Even with the Kamp Koral scenes forced in there, it was still a really heartwarming tearjerking moment.

I wasn't too fond of Poseidon as the villain. I didn't really find him threatening enough to be one, and his redemption being because he realized he had no friends and that he should be himself by not trying to look perfect all the time was a little too corny for me. Also, I hope I'm not the only one who noticed that he shares the same voice actor as Bubbles from Sponge Out of Water.

One other nitpick I had was the insert of pop songs in the movie. I always liked SpongeBob having a timeless feel, and I thought that them shoving in dated pop songs was kinda a bring down. I especially cringed at hearing "My Heart Will Go On" not once, but TWICE. Although, I did admittedly enjoy the scene with "Livin' La Vida Loca", especially when SpongeBob and Patrick sing a few bars. I also liked hearing Kenny G's rendition of "Gary's Song" during the credits.

I enjoyed all the little Call-Backs to the series.

Also SpongeBob saying the word "Crappy" was the highlight of the movie for me.

Another tearjerking moment was seeing the dedication to Stephen Hillenburg at the end. 

So, while this isn't my favorite SpongeBob movie, and I fear what SpongeBob will bring in the future, I'm still glad I saw this movie, and maybe I'll see it again...when it airs on TV and there's nothing else on.

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