While some films take a while to let viewers know what may be in store for them, others jump in right away, wasting no time in establishing genre, pacing and mood. In one of this week's new films, a bit of a combination of the two is utilized. A ship of live-action pirates spot an approaching dingy, with everyone excited about the treasure onboard. And that's not because it contains plundered gold coins, but something apparently more valuable to them -- movie tickets to a screening of "The Spongebob Squarepants Movie."
Those pirates then settle into a theater and the movie we thought we were supposed to see -- the animated one -- then plays on the screen that eventually fills ours. And so begins this big screen version of the mega popular, animated TV show that debuted back in 1999 and is one of the biggest hits on cable, not only among kids, but also teens and some adults as well.
Each show contains several rather short animated stories featuring what's arguably one of the oddest creations ever to hit the little or big screen. You see, if you don't already know, the main character is a talking, undersea sponge who wears square cardboard pants and interacts with the other decidedly less bizarre denizens of Bikini Bottom. The result is a lively and decidedly quirky offering.
All of which means it's perfectly suited for a feature length film, right? Well, regardless of how absorbent the title character may be, this 90-some minute effort feels as if every ounce of potential has been wrung from its TV to cinematic body. The result is a picture that will likely play well to its fan base (although it may scare some of the younger ones), but is only moderately diverting for anyone else, particularly adults who've never watched the show.
The problem -- beyond the apparent need to follow other Nickelodeon stablemates such as Jimmy Neutron and The Wild Thornberrys to the big screen -- is that works decently in short form feels rather stretched to the limit and then some in feature length mode. The filmmakers -- writer/director Stephen Hillenburg (making his feature debut) and screenwriters Derek Drymon, Tim Hill, Stephen Hillenburg, Kent Osborne, Aaron Springer & Paul Tibbitt -- wisely transfer all of the characters, vocal talent and eccentric attitude and demeanor. Yet, what has felt natural (if purposefully weird) on the small screen seems a bit forced on the big one.
And that's obviously because the filmmakers had to fill those ninety-minutes rather than the less than fifteen needed in each TV installment, and doing so requires more than just multiplying the material by the necessary integer. It constitutes a lengthy plot that can carry the film, but the one here is often threadbare.
It appears that the King's crown has been stolen -- by a diminutive restaurateur whose ulterior motive is stealing a secret recipe from his competitor who he's framed for the crime -- and so our faithful if blissfully ignorant protagonist and his sidekick set out to retrieve it. Along the way they encounter various monsters and other perilous moments, a menacing hitman hired by the little schemer and, of all things, a live-action David Hasselhoff playing a version of his old "Baywatch" character.
That bit seemed funny in the previews, but unfortunately that's about as imaginative as it gets (the buff star transports our heroes back home just in time) as the gag goes on a bit too long. The filmmakers throw in a number of other "adult" references for older viewers, but they're an odd, eclectic and not particularly imaginative grouping. There's the to-be-expected campy sea references such as "Alexander Clam Bell," but also the old bionic jumping sound from "The Six Million Dollar Man" (in a non-jumping moment), one of those on-screen, action-based, text descriptors from the old "Batman" TV show (think "Pow!") and even a David Lee Roth music video reference from his post Van Halen days.
Those of us who remember TV animation from long before Spongebob, Ren & Stimpy, Bart and others appreciate the attempt at entertaining us. Yet, the result is rather lame, especially when compared to the "adult" wit found in the likes of the "Shrek" and various Pixar films. Kids, of course, won't mind, and I guess there's something to be said for that although this offering is more violent than its TV cousin and contains some more "risqué" material (for a movie featuring a sponge wearing or, in this case, sometimes not wearing cardboard pants).
Vocal work from the various performers is fine, if not particularly memorable, with Alec Baldwin ("The Cooler," "State and Main"), Scarlett Johansson ("Lost in Translation," "The Girl with a Pearl Earring") and others joining the regular cast. Animation work is decidedly that of the TV variety which I guess is fine since the target audience wouldn't probably care or maybe even notice if things were spruced up visually.
Not as much fun as its short-form predecessor and certainly not as smart, imaginative or entertaining as its computer-generated brethren that have now completely taken over the feature length animation category, "The Spongebob Squarepants Movie" may be worthy to its large fan base, but it will likely only moderately entertain everyone else. The film rates as a 5 out of 10.
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