6/10

Director Paul Tibbett takes the underwater world of the infamous Nickelodeon characters, and gives them a fresh spin with their first appearances on land. The second version of a Spongebob Squarepants movie is a more ambitious one than it’s previous efforts. It’s narrated by a pirate (Antonio Banderas) who steals a secret book on a booby trapped island. The book has magical powers, and serves as a genie of sorts to anyone who dons the pen and writes on it’s pages. This greedy pirate steals the secret of the crabby pattie from Spongebob and his friends, and they go on a brave mission to get it back. “The Spongebob Squarepants Movie” doesn’t do much to win over the crowds who are either 50/50 on the TV show, or simply don’t like it. It does however take the popular show with it’s legion of fans, and takes it to the next biggest level. As someone who is in the middle, i found that there was a lot to enjoy with Tibbett’s feature continuing the very characters he invented. The film of course has it’s cheeky comedy, but it’s in the fact that it’s PG rating is used to give the adults in the audience something to enjoy. One thing that always kind of bothered me with the show, is that it’s dominated by kid friendly humor that doesn’t always expand well to it’s older audience who need something more than silly laughter and goofy antics. What this film gave me was thinker’s humor where the punchline wasn’t so obvious. There were many jokes when i had to think twice to make sure i got the movie, and as it hit me, it made it even funnier. I respect any kids movie that takes the time to make a family experience even more entertaining by reaching through to every age group in the theater. The art direction is very welcoming, considering we only know these characters in a 2D animated setting. Their time above water was probably my favorite part of the film, and it’s a shame we only see this for the last 25 minutes of the 83 minute feature. The characters look fresh and updated with an almost claymation showcase design. I think the book is left wide open, and if Nickelodeon ever wanted to take these characters and put them in that setting full time; they could. I give respect to Tibbett for many things, but the biggest is how he decided to stick with a voice acting cast exlusively, and not go celebrity with it for shock value. The 2005 original traveled this route with A-list actors like Alec Baldwin and Scarlett Johansson lending their vocals to some new characters. I think the long time voice actors on the show are enough to keep this film entertaining. They are the bread and butter, and it shows that talent can still outweigh A-list perception. Overall, i recommend this film to any fans of the show. I don’t think there is enough there to convert many haters over, so i will just keep it with the former as to who i think should see this film. Tom Kenny still has it as the voice of our central protagonist, and the newest feature serves as a great mixtape for the many talents he has to entertain the younger audience. “Spongebob” is a pleasant surprise in an always frightful movie month.