The Popkorn Junkie :: THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE

     Who stars in a movie that's as cool as can be? Spongebob Squarepants! Oh, and don't forget Patrick. Believe it or not, this is only the second animated film I have seen all year, alongside "Shrek 2". Why, you ask? Well, for starters, animated films usually bore me in the theatres...I have to wait until they hit video and DVD before I can really appreciate them. "Shrek 2" was an exception based solely on how brilliant it was. "The Spongebob Squarepants Movie" intrigued me because I have always been a huge fan of the television show...the way the writers incorporate juvenile humor with adult humor is unbeatable today in the world of animation. The show has always seemed like the best of "Ren & Stimpy" blended with the worst of "Rugrats". Whatever the show is, it sure did produce one hell of an entertaining movie.

     The film centers around the evil Plankton, who wants to take over the world, starting off by framing Mr. Crab of a crime and stealing the recipe for the Krabby Patty, turning the Chum Bucket into the next big restaurant in Bikini Bottom. He does this by stealing the crown of King Neptune and sending it to the dangerous Shell City. It becomes up to Spongebob (hot off being rejected as the manager of the new Krusty Krab 2) and Patrick (who wears a nice pair of Goofy Goober underpants) to travel to Shell City and retrieve the crown before King Neptune burns Mr. Crab alive with his red hot trident. Along the way, they encounter a hitman named Dennis (voiced by Alec Baldwin), King Neptune's troublesome daughter (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), and "Baywatch" star David Hasselhoof, who gives the guys a lift back to Bikini Bottom via his super charged pectoral muscles. And, along the way, they both learn that being a kid isn't necessarily a bad thing.

      Kids will enjoy this film for the same reasons they enjoy the television show. The goofball antics and crude juvenile humor is everywhere, and there are even song and dance numbers that had the kids in the theatre laughing and dancing. The film also manages to teach a very valuable lesson about growing up and about friendship. As for the adults -- don't fear. There is more than enough humor for you. In fact, if kids had better powers of deduction, this film might have received a stricter rating. In what other kids film can filmmakers get away with a Goofy Goober, or Patrick in fish net stocking doing the splits? These writers are some of the best in the business, and I think this film was a chance for them to push the boundaries and do whatever they wanted, which can be the only explanation for the eighties hair rock tribute at the end of the film. So, parents are encouraged to take their children, and be prepared to enjoy the film just as much as they do, if not more so. Odds are that you will get more of the jokes than they will, because that is just how the filmmakers want it.

      So, will this film make more money than "The Incredibles" or "Shark Tale"? Probably not. "The Spongebob Squarepants Movie" appeals to two demographics -- very young kids and pot smoking college students. What the film will do it turn on new people to the television show and almost certainly warrant a sequel in the near future. And, if this film manages to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature, it could go down as a classic animated feature. This is certainly going to be one of, if not the, highest grossing Nickelodeon produced films of all time. In summation, "The Spongebob Squarepants Movie" is highly entertaining, thoroughly zany and hilarious, and fun time to be had by all. See if you can hear Mr. Crab mumble the word 'jackass' like I did...e-mail me and let me know so I know I am not as crazy as I could be.

-- Billy Ray ( 3 out of 4 pops )

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