The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run is a 2020 American live-action/computer-animated adventure comedy film based on the animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants.
Directed and written by series developer and former series writer Tim Hill, who co-wrote the story with Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, it is the first film in the franchise to be fully animated in stylized CGI rather than traditional 2D animation.
The regular voice cast of the series reprise their respective roles from the series and the previous films, and the plot follows the origin of how SpongeBob met Gary the Snail, and SpongeBob’s quest to rescue him after he is kidnapped.
It is the third theatrical film based on the series, following the first in 2004 and second in 2015. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run is dedicated to creator Stephen Hillenburg, who died in 2018.
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run Cast
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run series’ regular voice cast reprised their roles for the film.
- Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants and Gary the Snail.
- Antonio Raul Corbo as Young SpongeBob.
- Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick Star.
- Jack Gore as Young Patrick.
- Rodger Bumpass as Squidward Tentacles.
- Jason Maybaum as Young Squidward.
- Clancy Brown as Mr. Krabs.
- Mr. Lawrence as Plankton.
- Jill Talley as Karen.
- Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy Cheeks.
- Presley Williams as Young Sandy.
- Mary Jo Catlett as Mrs. Puff.
- Lori Alan as Pearl Krabs.
- Matt Berry as King Poseidon.
- Awkwafina as Otto.
- Keanu Reeves as Sage.
- Snoop Dogg as The Gambler.
- Danny Trejo as El Diablo.
- Tiffany Haddish as Master of Ceremonies.
- Reggie Watts as Chancellor.
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run Plot
SpongeBob and Patrick travel to the lost city of Atlantic City to solve the mysterious kidnapping of Gary the snail. They soon prove that there’s nothing stronger than the power of friendship as they encounter danger and delight at every turn.
It is a rescue mission to save SpongeBob’s pet snail Gary, who has been “snailnapped” by King Poseidon.
The movie also reveals the origin of SpongeBob and Gary’s meeting for the first time as children.
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run Review
The new SpongeBob movie is not as great as the first one, it was actually disappointing. The film has some plotholes, the animation is good , the soundtrack is great. This movie is just an introduction to the spinoff that will be called ‘Kamp Koral’.
Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years is a SpongeBob SquarePants spin-off prequel series, based on the flashback scene from The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, that introduces a 10-year-old SpongeBob at a summer sleepaway camp.
About Keanu Reeves, he was great and guess the best part of the film , but at some point it felt like he was forced to have more screen time and that made it kind of cringey. The peak of the movie was snoop dogg and Danny trejo.
Keanu Reeves and weezer are forced memes. This movie has all its main characters that are Mr. Krabs, Squidward, Plankton and Sandy along with SpongeBob and Patrick. This might be a loosely plotted film but it has its funny and heartwarming moments like the meaning of friendship, the evil and adorable little plankton doing his best. Overall, it’s not a great movie but it is a bit enjoyable with all the cool animation and soundtrack.
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run Critical Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, 70% of 10 critic reviews are positive for the film, and the average rating is 5.40/10.
Writing for CTV News, Richard Crouse gave the 3.5 stars and wrote: “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on The Run brings with it the usual anarchy, inside jokes and unexpected celebrity cameos, but at its little osmotic heart is SpongeBob, a character who belongs to the same genus of entertainers as Soupy Sales, Stan Laurel and Pee Wee Herman.”
Aparita Bhandari of The Globe and Mail gave the film 1.5 out of 4 stars, writing: “I totally understand if the latest SpongeBob SquarePants movie spinoff will draw in longtime fans and new audiences brave enough to venture into a movie theatre this Friday… However, for me and my two kids (aged 10 and 8), this dive into the deep sea wasn’t as thrilling an adventure as we’d hoped for.”
The Movie Culture Synopsis
This new SpongeBob movie isn’t as great as the first one but it’s a bit enjoyable at has its funny and heartwarming moments. It’s quite disappointing. Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years is a SpongeBob SquarePants spin-off prequel series, based on the flashback scene from this film, that introduces a 10-year-old SpongeBob at a summer sleepaway camp.
The film was produced by Paramount Animation, Nickelodeon Movies, and United Plankton Pictures, with animation provided by Mikros Image. Originally slated for a worldwide theatrical release by Paramount Pictures, plans were changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The film was released theatrically in Canada on August 14, 2020 and digitally on Netflix in other territories on November 5, 2020, while it will have a premium video-on-demand and CBS All Access release in the United States in early 2021. It is available to watch on Netflix.
