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"THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE"
(2004) (voices of Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke) (PG)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Moderate Minor Heavy *Moderate Moderate
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Moderate None Extreme None None
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
*Mild Minor None Moderate *Heavy


QUICK TAKE:
Animated Comedy: A sponge-shaped kid and his aquatic sidekick have just six days to retrieve their King's stolen crown before the angry leader fries a crustacean restaurateur who's been framed for the theft by a competitor.
PLOT:
In the undersea world of Bikini Bottom, life is good and Spongebob Squarepants (voice of TOM KENNY) is positive he's going to be promoted from fry cook to manager at the new Krusty Krab 2 restaurant run by Eugene Krabs (voice of CLANCY BROWN). When the crab boss chooses Squidward (voice of ROGER BUMPASS), however, Spongebob and his starfish best friend Patrick (voice of BILL FAGERBAKKE) go on a dessert bender that leaves them hung-over the next day.

In the meantime, the diminutive Plankton (voice of DOUG LAWRENCE) is following a devious scheme to steal Krabs' secret recipe for Krabby Patties for his own restaurant, the Chum Bucket. To get Krabs out of the way, he steals King Neptune's (voice of JEFFREY TAMBOR) crown and blames the theft on the innocent but greedy crab.

Neptune's compassionate daughter, Mindy (voice of SCARLETT JOHANSSON), urges the King not to kill Krabs and Spongebob volunteers to travel to Shell City, retrieve the crown and get his boss off the hook. With Patrick by his side, the two set out with just six days to succeed, unaware of the peril that awaits them along the way.

That includes Dennis (voice of ALEC BALDWIN), a killer hired by Plankton to make sure the two don't succeed. With the aid of the likes of Mindy, David Hasselhoff (DAVID HASSELHOFF) and others, the two oblivious do-gooders race against time and try to avoid various obstacles and dangers to get the crown back to the King before he fries up Krabs.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
If they're fans of the TV show, that's a definite yes.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG
For some mild crude humor.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
It's debatable whether kids view animated characters (particularly non-human ones) as role models, but here's a quick look at their major characteristics.
  • SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS is a sponge-shaped kid who lives under the sea and dreams of becoming a restaurant manager. When that doesn't occur, he goes on a dessert bender (and is hung-over from that), but volunteers to retrieve Neptune's crown to save his boss's life. Along the way, he shows oblivious bravery and resourcefulness while trying to prove that he's more than just a kid.
  • PATRICK is his more immature friend, a starfish who blindly follows Spongebob on their quest.
  • EUGENE KRABS is Spongebob's money-driven boss who passes him over for the promotion, but is happy when Spongebob sets out to save his life.
  • PLANKTON is the diminutive owner of a competing restaurant who frames Krabs for the crown's theft, steals the crab's secret recipe and sends a hitman to stop Spongebob and Patrick from succeeding.
  • KING NEPTUNE is the hot-headed ruler who's quick to let his temper rule and threatens to kill Krabs over the theft of his crown.
  • MINDY is his daughter who wants him to be more compassionate and level-headed.
  • DENNIS is the hitman hired by Plankton to find and kill Spongebob and Patrick.
  • DAVID HASSELHOFF plays the Baywatch version of himself who assists Spongebob and Patrick on their quest.
  • SQUIDWARD is Spongebob's coworker who gets the promotion.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    The following is a brief summary of the content found in this PG-rated, animated comedy. The rating officially comes from some crude humor, but some parents may be more concerned with the violence that occurs in the film. While some slapstick style material is present, so are scenes where characters or monsters try to kill the film's heroes who are often oblivious to the danger facing them.

    Various characters fight and/or hit/strike others and those scenes along with other perilous moments and some imagery may be unsettling, suspenseful and/or downright scary to very young viewers, although older ones will likely have little if any such reaction to the same.

    Various characters are seen in their underwear (briefs), while the bare butts of two non-human, male characters are briefly seen (for laughs). One is later seen in fishnet stockings and high-heeled boots, while a male character looks at a plan as if it's a girlie centerfold (it's just words, but the visual joke reference is still there).

    The same holds true for two characters who get "drunk" on too much desert and act intoxicated that night and hung-over the following morning. Other real drinking is briefly present. Other imitative behavior occurs, including the utterance of various colorful and/or repeatable phrases. Finally, the various villains and others have varying degrees of bad attitudes.

    Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.



    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • A pirate may have some ale, but it's never identified.
  • Spongebob and Patrick sloppily eat a great deal of dessert, loudly belching after their first serving. When they're done (in the equivalent of a bar), they act as if heavily intoxicated (presumably on sugar) and the next morning Spongebob looks, sounds and acts as if he has a hangover and is still "drunk."
  • A character in a bar appears to be drunk and falls down, while others drink.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • Spongebob unknowingly steps on the itty-bitty Plankton and then tries to scrape the goo off his foot, unaware that he's smearing Plankton across the road (he's fine afterwards).
  • We hear the sound of Patrick urinating in a bathroom.
  • We see the intestinal track inside a large, see-through monster with Spongebob and Patrick entering the mouth and then exiting through a door at the back end of it.
  • A live-action diver heads into the bathroom to use it (but we don't hear or see anything else).
  • When Spongebob asks Patrick if he still has that "bag of wind" (that Mindy gave them and which is magical), Patrick says he does and then shows a bulge in the back of his pants (a fart joke, especially when we then see the real bag elsewhere).
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • Mr. Krabs is motivated solely by money. When he sees that King Neptune is going to frequent his restaurant, the crab quickly raises his prices.
  • Plankton is jealous of Mr. Krabs' success and thus sets out to get him in trouble with King Neptune (by making it look like Krabs stole and sold the king's crown) so that he can steal the crab's secret restaurant recipe.
  • King Neptune hits an underling with his scepter and then does so again.
  • Spongebob blows a raspberry at his boss while upset with him (and drunk from sugar).
  • A miscellaneous character steals Spongebob and Patrick's car.
  • Plankton hires Dennis the hitman to find, stop and kill Spongebob and Patrick.
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • Scenes listed under "Violence" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to very young viewers but probably not to anyone else.
  • Neptune holds a large and burning red/hot scepter at Krabs, preparing to zap him with it. He then does that, catching part of him on fire as he races around the restaurant. After Mindy and others intervene, he simply freezes Krabs in that spot to deal with him in a few days.
  • Spongebob and Patrick hear that there are crooks, killers and monsters along the way to Shell City that's guarded by a huge cyclops.
  • Some rough barroom thugs try to shake down (intimidate) others in a restaurant, with Spongebob and Patrick sweating profusely over being picked out.
  • Plankton controls various denizens and turns them into automatons that come after Squidward.
  • Spongebob and Patrick are oblivious to the increasing piles of skulls and bones on the road as they head toward Shell City. Spongebob then goes to get some ice cream, unaware that it's a trap until he finds himself stuck on some glue. We then see huge jaws coming up from below him, but he manages to avoid being eaten, although a chase then ensues. A bigger, eel-like creature, however, pops up and swallows that other pursuing creature.
  • Spongebob and Patrick hear various monster sounds from down inside a very deep chasm.
  • Not realizing what they're really doing, Spongebob and Patrick run and jump into a very deep chasm. We then see them falling a long distance during which they eventually become scared as they plummet toward the bottom, but a plant on the side of the cliff breaks their fall enough that they land without being hurt.
  • We see the silhouettes of various monsters inside a deep chasm where Spongebob and Patrick find themselves (but they're not scared since they now think they're men).
  • Various monsters try to kill Spongebob and Patrick (during a musical number), but the guys avoid the attempts (and aren't scared since they now think they're men).
  • Spongebob and Patrick appear frightened of Dennis who prepares to stomp down on them with his large boot that's covered with sharp spikes. An even bigger boot then steps down on Dennis, presumably killing him (but we later see him again).
  • Spongebob and Patrick appear frightened of a live-action deep-sea diver who appears with an old-fashioned diving helmet that makes him look like a cyclops. They try to run away, but the diver catches them. They then come to in a fish bowl where they see various dried and mounted fish in a souvenir shop. They then appear scared again as the diver approaches and lets out an evil laugh. Kids may worry as the two are then see attached to a drying board with a hot lamp starting to dry them out, making them look shriveled and with Spongebob's arm falling off. They then both appear completely dried out and some younger kids may worry that they're dead (a sprinkler, however, resurrects them and the rest of the mounted and dried-out fish).
  • Neptune arrives at the Krusty Krab and informs Krabs that it's time for him to die. He then fires a beam of energy at them, but it's deflected and shoots up through the water, leaving Hasselhoff looking somewhat charred (but otherwise okay).
  • Plankton's various mind-controlled subjects show up at a restaurant, but Spongebob's rock and roll music fires beams that blast the chum buckets from the subjects' heads, freeing them.
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • Live-action pirates carry swords in a prelude to the main film.
  • Dennis wears a knife like a necklace around his neck and hanging in front of his chest. He later uses it to try to attack Spongebob (and ends up stabbing the huge David Hasselhoff in the clothed butt with it -- but it's just a pinprick to him).
  • Some TNT is used to blow open a wall.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "Cleanliness is next to management-liness" (or something close to that), "We're gonna party till we're purple," "You twit," "Stupid kid," a possible "Jackass," "Oh, for crying out loud," "Dork," "Goofball," "Ding-a-ling," "Wing nut," "Did you see my butt," an incomplete "What the..." "Why do I always get the nuts?" "A great big jerk," "You two dipsticks," "Shut up (and look at the screen)," "Inspector loose-lips," "What a jerk," "Road" (mindlessly repeated by Patrick over and over again), "For corn sake," "Kids rule," "Will you butt out?" "Sponge-boob," "Hold on there, baldy," "Fool," "What the scallop?" and "Knucklehead."
  • Keeps may repeatedly sing bits or the entirety of otherwise innocuous songs from the film.
  • Spongebob smacks another character to make him regain his composure.
  • Patrick flies into the scene with a small victory flag and its pole is wedged between his bare butt cheeks (that are seen -- and he asks, "Did you see my butt?").
  • Spongebob grabs Patrick's bare chest (where his nipples would be if he had them, but in a nonsexual manner).
  • Spongebob and Patrick sloppily eat a great deal of dessert, loudly belching after their first serving.
  • Characters react adversely to the sight of Neptune's baldness.
  • Spongebob blows a raspberry at his boss while upset with him (and drunk from sugar).
  • Mindy wears a midriff-revealing top.
  • When Patrick spots Mindy he goes into a daze and tells her, "You're hot."
  • Two country bumpkins smash, bang and choke each other (apparently for the fun of it). Dennis then comes along and rips the lips of those two men (no blood).
  • Spongebob and Patrick repeatedly slap their knees and chests with their own hands.
  • A tear short-circuits an electrical outlet.
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • An extreme amount of suspenseful and ominous music plays in the film.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • None.
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • We see Spongebob in his underwear (briefs). We then briefly see his bare butt when the back of his cardboard pants falls open.
  • Squidward is shocked to see Spongebob in the shower with him, scrubbing his back (but with no apparent sexual intentions).
  • Plankton unfolds some paper like a centerfold and likes the look of what he's seeing, but it's a devious scheme rather than anything pornographic (although the reference is still there).
  • Patrick flies into the scene with a small victory flag and its pole is wedged between his bare butt cheeks (that are seen -- and he asks, "Did you see my butt?").
  • We briefly see Krabs in his underwear while briefly on fire.
  • When Patrick spots Mindy he goes into a daze and tells her, "You're hot."
  • We see a close-up of Patrick's underwear (briefs) that have cartoon figures on them. Moments later, Mindy shows up and Patrick eagerly asks her if she saw his underwear. When she says she didn't, he asks if she wants to.
  • We see Patrick in fishnet stockings and thigh-high, high-heeled, women's boots (as a visual joke).
  • SMOKING
  • A character in a bar has a pipe.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • None.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • Mr. Krabs is motivated solely by money.
  • Spongebob offering to help out his boss even after being passed over by him for a promotion.
  • Mindy tries to get her dad to rule by love and compassion rather than fear and violence.
  • Mindy's comment to Spongebob and Patrick that they just have to believe in themselves.
  • We see Patrick in fishnet stockings and thigh-high, high-heeled, women's boots (as a visual joke).
  • VIOLENCE
  • Most of the following is played for comedy and/or cartoon style action/adventure (but attempts on other's lives are present).
  • A pirate captain opens a door into a crewmember's face.
  • Spongebob smacks another character to make him regain his composure.
  • We see Spongebob being kicked out and then flying away from a window (done by Squidward for Spongebob being in the shower with him).
  • Spongebob unknowingly steps on the itty-bitty Plankton and then tries to scrape the goo off his foot, unaware that he's smearing Plankton across the road (he's fine afterwards).
  • Patrick accidentally flies into a building or sign that then burns to the ground (played for goofy comedy).
  • King Neptune hits an underling with his scepter and then does so again.
  • Spongebob grabs Patrick's bare chest (where his nipples would be if he had them, but in a nonsexual manner).
  • Neptune holds a large and burning red/hot scepter at Krabs, preparing to zap him with it. He then does that, catching part of him on fire as he races around the restaurant. After Mindy and others intervene, he simply freezes Krabs in that spot to deal with him in a few days.
  • Two country bumpkins smash, bang and choke each other (apparently for the fun of it). Dennis then comes along and rips the lips of those two men (no blood).
  • A character is knocked out through a window.
  • Some characters in a bar hit each other in a bar-fight sort of fashion.
  • A thief throws a barroom stool into another character's face.
  • We see a cartoon cloud of violence in a bar (inside which characters are presumably hitting each other).
  • Dennis punches a thief through the air.
  • Various monsters try to kill Spongebob and Patrick (during a musical number), but the guys avoid the attempts (and aren't scared since they now think they're men).
  • Spongebob and Patrick appear frightened of Dennis who prepares to stomp down on them with his large boot that's covered with sharp spikes. An even bigger boot then steps down on Dennis, presumably killing him (but we later see him again).
  • We see various forms of aquatic animals (previously dried out by a deep-sea diver) attacking the diver who had captured them (no real impact, just lots of action).
  • As David Hasselhoff transports the diminutive Spongebob and Patrick on his back while racing along on the surface of the water like a speedboat, Dennis appears and tries to attack them, knocking Patrick aside and he tries to stab Spongebob, but he ends up stabbing Hasselhoff in his swimsuit covered butt (but it's just a pinprick to him). Bubbles then blind and burn Dennis' eyes and he's then clotheslined by a catamaran as Hasselhoff zips beneath it.
  • Neptune arrives at the Krusty Krab and informs Krabs that it's time for him to die. He then fires a beam of energy at them, but it's deflected and shoots up through the water, leaving Hasselhoff looking somewhat charred (but otherwise okay).
  • Plankton's various mind-controlled subjects show up at a restaurant, but Spongebob's rock and roll music fires beams that blast the chum buckets from the subjects' heads, freeing them.
  • Some TNT is used to blow open a wall.
  • Many characters unknowingly trample and step down onto Plankton.



  • Reviewed November 15, 2004 / Posted November 19, 2004

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