The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2020)
Dir: Tim Hill
Personal Rating: 5/10
When his best friend Gary is suddenly snatched away, SpongeBob takes Patrick on a madcap mission far beyond Bikini Bottom to save their pink-shelled pal.
I’ve always really loved SpongeBob growing up, and no SpongeBob movie will ever be able to beat the impeccably high standards that the first movie gave us, a truly iconic feature in mine and many others’ childhoods. Now, I’m not going to sit here and completely slate this movie, I didn’t think it was awful as such there were definitely redeeming qualities.
First things first, Keanu Reeves is in this movie. He’s a tumbleweed. Yes, you read that correctly, a tumbleweed. Whilst yes, this is incredibly… different. This all-seeing tumbleweed aptly named Sage is EXACTLY how my mind sees Keanu Reeves and I’m more than ok with that. Tumbleweed Keanu has taken up space in my mind rent-free for the foreseeable future.
This movie, chaotically also incorporates cameos from Snoop Dogg and Danny Trejo, which while enjoyable, were very short almost one-liner cameos for these actors.
My first thought after watching this movie was, that they tried to make a 95 minute long, meme packed movie aimed at a slightly older audience than the original youthful audience the series is aimed it. I feel as though they tried to relate this movie to the now older audience who watched SpongeBob as children and still spend their time reminiscing over episodes and creating ridiculous TikTok content. It all just felt so forced.
There were some adorable flashback style scenes in this movie that I feel really redeemed it. Looking back at adorable child versions of the main characters that we’ve been seeing for all those years was such a nice touch.
The main message throughout this film was friendship and kindness and it’s definitely a nice message for any audience to just be kind to one another.
Overall, I’m glad that I did watch this movie, just for the nostalgic feel but unfortunately, it just wasn’t that great. It definitely wouldn’t be a film I’d willingly revisit but I don’t regret taking the time to watch it. I honestly can’t say I’d recommend this movie unless you’re after the nostalgic feel of these characters.
Thank you for taking your time to read my thoughts on The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run. If you have any thoughts on this film, please do leave a comment I’d love to hear what you thought.
*Review written 19th November 2020.
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