Written by: Robert Timmler

Nickelodeon Movies/ Contributed

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run is the third theatrical film based on the hit Nickelodeon show SpongeBob SquarePants. In The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, Plankton (voiced by Mr. Lawrence) is creating another scheme to try and steal the famous krabby patty formula. Plankton realizes that SpongeBob (voiced by Tom Kenny) has been at the center of all his failed schemes and devises a plan to get rid of SpongeBob permanently. Meanwhile in the lost  Atlantic City, King Poseidon (voiced by Matt Berry) has depleted his supply of snails which he uses to get rid of the wrinkles on his face. Therefore, he orders his chancellor (voiced by Reggie Watts) to put a bounty on all snails and to transport them to his palace immediately. This gives Plankton the awful idea of how to get rid of SpongeBob; steal SpongeBob’s pet snail, Gary (voiced also by Tom Kenny), and send him to Atlantic City. After Plankton succeeds in his plan, SpongeBob comes home to find Gary missing and his home in disarray. After searching around his house, SpongeBob finds the king’s official bounty in Gary’s litter box and determines he must travel to Atlantic City to save Gary. So, SpongeBob and Patrick (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke) go on a wild adventure to Atlantic City in the hopes of finding and saving Gary.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run is a fun and childish adventure that stays true to the humor and heart of SpongeBob SquarePants. The writing is fantastic from the jokes, the story, and the many heartfelt moments that display how great of a character SpongeBob SquarePants truly is. The humor, jokes and visual gags are energetic and stays loyal to the same style of humor as the show. The original cast of characters are still great along with new side characters who add excitement and comedy to the film with their excellent comic time and chemistry that lends itself to some hilarious jokes and running gags. The emotional moments are heartwarming and do an exceptional job exhibiting SpongeBob’s loving and kind personality.

The weakness of the film is that the conversion of the 2D animated characters into detailed 3D Computer Generated Images (CGI) character models at times looks jarring. At certain moments in the film, whether it be a joke or emotional moment, the character designs and their movements would seem very odd while the 2D animation of the TV Show. The change in animation from 2D to 3D does impair the speed and flexibility of the characters’ movements and reactions and makes the animation in the film feel slower.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run gets:

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