| The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie | |
|---|---|
| |
| Directed by | Stephen Hillenburg |
| Produced by | Stephen Hillenburg Julia Pistor |
| Written by | Derek Drymon Tim Hill Stephen Hillenburg Kent Osborne Aaron Springer Paul Tibbitt |
| Starring |
Tom Kenny |
| Music by | Gregor Narholz |
| Cinematography | Jerzy Zielinski |
| Editing by | Lynn Hobson |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures (USA) United International Pictures (international) |
| Release | November 14, 2004 (Grauman's Chinese Theatre) November 19, 2004 (North America) |
| Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $30 million |
| Gross revenue | $140.2 million |
| Preceded by | The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water |
| Followed by | |
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie is a 2004 American animated comedy film based on the Nickelodeon television series, SpongeBob SquarePants. The film was directed by series creator Stephen Hillenburg, and stars the regular television cast of Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass, and Mr. Lawrence, with guest performances by Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Tambor, Alec Baldwin and David Hasselhoff. The plot follows Plankton's plan to steal King Neptune's crown and send it to Shell City. SpongeBob and Patrick must retrieve the crown to save Mr. Krabs from Neptune's wrath and their home (Bikini Bottom) from Plankton's plan.
Previous offers by Paramount Pictures to create a film version of SpongeBob were rejected by Hillenburg, but he eventually accepted one in 2002. When the film went into production, Hillenburg and the show's staff halted production on the series after the third season. A writing team—Hillenburg, Paul Tibbitt, Derek Drymon, Aaron Springer, Kent Osborne and Tim Hill—was assembled, conceiving the idea of a mythical hero's quest: the search for a stolen crown, which would bring SpongeBob and Patrick to the surface. The film was originally intended as the series finale; however, Nickelodeon desired more episodes, so Paul Tibbitt assumed Hillenburg's position as showrunner to produce further episodes after the movie. During production, Jules Engel, Hillenburg's mentor at the California Institute of the Arts, died; the film was dedicated to his memory.
Tie-in promotions were made by 7-Eleven, the Cayman Islands and Burger King, which decorated some stores with 9-foot (2.7 m) SpongeBob inflatable figures. The film was a box-office success, grossing over $140 million with a $30 million budget, and received generally positive reviews from critics. A stand-alone sequel titled The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water was released on February 6, 2015.
Plot[]
The film follows the plot of the TV series SpongeBob SquarePants, focusing on the anthropomorphic sea sponge of the same name (Tom Kenny). SpongeBob dreams about managing the Krusty Krab restaurant. The restaurant is in trouble because a customer has no cheese on his Krabby Patty, but SpongeBob saves the day. He wakes up and cheerfully prepares for the opening ceremony for the Krusty Krab 2, hoping that his boss Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown) will promote him to manager of the new restaurant built next door to the original Krusty Krab. At the ceremony, SpongeBob is passed over; his co-worker, Squidward Tentacles (Rodger Bumpass), is given the promotion because Mr. Krabs thinks he is "more mature" than SpongeBob.
Meanwhile, Plankton (Mr. Lawrence), Mr. Krabs' business rival, devises a plot to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula and frame Mr. Krabs. He steals King Neptune's (Jeffrey Tambor) crown at night, sending it to Shell City. That night, SpongeBob goes to his favorite restaurant, Goofy Goober; he drowns his sorrows in ice cream with his best friend, Patrick Star (Bill Fagerbakke), waking up the next morning with a headache. King Neptune barges into the Krusty Krab 2 the same morning and threatens to defeat Mr. Krabs. Although SpongeBob criticizes Mr. Krabs shortly after he arrives, he promises Neptune he will retrieve the crown from Shell City. Neptune freezes Mr. Krabs, still certain that he is the culprit, and tells SpongeBob to return with the crown in six days for him to thaw Mr. Krabs. SpongeBob and Patrick leave for Shell City in the Patty Wagon, a car shaped like a Krabby Patty.
In Bikini Bottom, Plankton steals the Krabby Patty formula and uses it to produce and sell Krabby Patties at his restaurant, the Chum Bucket, with the claim that Krabs bequeathed him the recipe. He sends a hitman named Dennis (Alec Baldwin) to pursue SpongeBob and Patrick. Squidward discovers the truth about Plankton stealing Neptune's crown and tries to alert Neptune. However, Plankton uses mind-controlling bucket helmets disguised as souvenirs to control Bikini Bottom's residents, including Squidward, and renames the city Planktopolis.
Meanwhile, SpongeBob and Patrick encounter a dangerous trench, but Neptune's daughter Mindy (Scarlett Johansson) helps them past it by making them think she can transform them into men. They are stopped by Dennis, who tries to defeat with his spiked boots, but he is in turn stepped on by a massive "cyclops" (a diver) (Neil Ross). The "cyclops" grabs SpongeBob and Patrick, and goes to his store near the beach ("Shell City"). At the store, SpongeBob and Patrick find the crown, but are nearly defeated and dehydrated in a lethal drying-out process with the heat lamp turned on. Their tears short-circuit the heat lamp; its smoke activates the sprinkler system, reviving them and the other dried sea creatures to be sold as souvenirs. As the sea creatures attack the diver, SpongeBob and Patrick take the crown and head for the beach. When they lose their way home, David Hasselhoff offers them a ride; Dennis catches up to them but is knocked by a catamaran back into the sea.
Back at the Krusty Krab 2, Neptune arrives to execute Mr. Krabs. Just in time, SpongeBob and Patrick return with the crown and confront Plankton, who then drops a mind-control bucket on Neptune, enslaving him. SpongeBob performs the song "Goofy Goober Rock" (performed by Jim Wise) and, after transforming into an electric guitar-wielding wizard for the duration of the song, frees Bikini Bottom's residents. Plankton is arrested, and King Neptune thanks SpongeBob for his bravery and thaws Mr. Krabs, who makes SpongeBob manager of the Krusty Krab 2 in gratitude.
Cast[]
- Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants, Gary the Snail and the Narrator
- Clancy Brown as Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob and Squidward's boss
- Rodger Bumpass as Squidward Tentacles, SpongeBob's neighbor
- Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick Star, SpongeBob's best friend and neighbor
- Mr. Lawrence as Plankton, Mr. Krabs' arch-rival and Karen's husband
- Jill Talley as Karen, Plankton's computer wife
- Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy Cheeks, SpongeBob's best friend from Texas
- Mary Jo Catlett as Mrs. Puff, SpongeBob's boating school teacher
- Jeffrey Tambor as King Neptune
- Scarlett Johansson as Princess Mindy, Neptune's daughter
- Alec Baldwin as Dennis, Plankton's hitman
- David Hasselhoff as himself
- Lori Alan as Pearl, Mr. Krabs' teenage daughter
- Dee Bradley Baker as Perch Perkins, the mayor for Bikini Bottom News
- Carlos Alazraqui as King Neptune's squire
- Neil Ross as the Cyclops
- Jim Wise as Goofy Goober Rock Singer
- Kristopher Logan as Squinty the Pirate
- D.P. FitzGerald as Bonesy the Pirate
- Cole McKay as Scruffy the Pirate
- Dylan Haggerty as Stitches the Pirate
- Bart McCarthy as Captain Bart the Pirate
- Henry Kingi as Inky the Pirate
External links[]
- The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie at the Internet Movie Database
| SpongeBob SquarePants |
| Films |
|
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie • The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water • The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run |
| Characters |
|
[[SpongeBob SquarePants (character)|SpongeBob SquarePants] • [[Patrick Star] • [[Sandy Cheeks] • [[Squidward Tentacles] • [[Mr. Krabs] • [[Plankton] • [[Mrs. Puff] |
| Alec Baldwin films |
|
Beetlejuice (1988) · Fun with Dick and Jane (2005) (2005) · |