The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015) is the second (now downloadable) major motion picture based on the children’s cartoon, Spongebob Squarepants (the first one was The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie released in 2004). Unlike the cartoon and the first movie, Sponge out of Water combines both animated and live-action footage. The film is wacky and ridiculous and follows the adventures of Spongebob and his beloved friends as they try to protect their home from an outside attack.
Fans of the original cartoon will appreciate the movie’s juvenile and slapstick humor, but the movie has enough laughs and surprises to keep non-fans invested. A great amount of color, comedy, and smart use of live-action footage makes this Spongebob Movie surprisingly solid.
How to Stream or Download The Spongebob Movie: Sponge out of Water
The film can be streamed or it can be downloaded from iTunes with several language versions and subtitles being available (not all languages will be supported, however, so for example if you are looking for Tamil and Hindi versions hold your horses and first check if they are there). Before committing To stream or to downloading it’s always a good idea to first watch the trailer, which is conveniently placed for you below
The Film Review
Sponge out of Water is a simple story with a lot of excessive action, which is par-for-course in a Spongebob narrative. The story picks up with our beloved yellow sponge in his home of Bikini Bottom, where he works as a cook at a burger joint called the Chum Bucket.
There, Spongebob and his friends cook up and deliver the Krabby Patty, widely considered the most tasty and delicious burger ever. On the surface, a pirate named Burger Beard (Antonio Banderas) discovers a magical book. This leads him to Bikini Bottom, where he steals the recipe for the Krabby Patty. From there, it’s up to Spongebob and his friends to travel to the surface and retrieve the secret recipe.
Sponge out of Water is a great adaptation of the Spongebob Squarepants cartoon because it mostly feels like an extended episode of the show. For the first half of the movie, things feel pretty standard for a kid’s cartoon film.
The jokes are silly enough to keep the kids laughing, with some raunchier content thrown in for the adults. The original voice actors from the cartoon reprise their roles for the movie, so everything looks and sounds like it should. However, as the movie approaches the halfway point and takes things to the surface, things get way more interesting.
All of the scenes above the water (and outside of Bikini Bottom) are shot in live action. When Spongebob and his friends decide to poke their heads out, they appear like an upgraded version of their cartoon selves.
A shiny coat of CGI paint makes Spongebob, Patrick, and the rest of the crew stand out. This combination of cartoonish characters in a life-like world produces some interesting and enjoyable action scenes that are tons of fun to watch. Furthermore, the live action portions of the movie feature a handful of hilarious cameos.
At every possible moment, the movie loves to use bright and vivid colors, resulting in a somewhat psychedelic look. If you take out the comedy, quirky characters, and wacky story, Sponge out of Water is still an entertaining movie based on the visuals alone.
The Spongebob Movie: Sponge out of Water is an exceptionally well-made movie, especially considering how popular the series is. At this point, Nickelodeon studios could’ve put out a run-of-the-mill movie adaptation, and it would’ve been profitable.
However, Sponge out of Water consistently subverts your expectations, resulting in a hilarious comedy that’s just as funny for the adults as it is for the kids. It’s a love letter to Spongebob fans both new and old, and it’s all the better for it.
