It's The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, it is what it is. To be perfectly clear, this is all just my personal opinion, you're welcome to disagree, just as much as I'm welcome to share. Otherwise what's the point? So let's get into it.
Personal Background
As another clarification, I'm not trying to be a contrarian, and I have seen this movie plenty of times before. I was a SpongeBob fan, and I remember actually being hyped for this movie when it was gonna come out. I got the movie's video game for GameCube, I believe I saw it in theaters then time later I got it on DVD and saw it however much I could then on. So I never went into the film as a hater, it was a slow burn leading to now.
Fallout
But what happened? As history shows, people like PIEGUYRULZ and MoBrosStudios effectively killed the SpongeBob fandom, and it's never gonna get better. As a consequence, SpongeBob fans had rallied in the name of Stephen Hillenburg, attacking anything they deem to be violating what they deem to be his wishes, and basically not understanding that the show stopped being his once the series made it to air, and there was nothing he could do even when he was alive.
Before you think I'm talking shit for the hell of it, keep in mind that Stephen was the director of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. He'd be dragged into this no matter what.
Textbook Defintion
Everything he did was essentially put on a higher pedestal than it was before, though ironically while he created SpongeBob he didn't always write every single episode, just saying. So, you have Stephen's work pushed to high heavens to honor him or shun later seasons. Now, combine that with the fact that the first SpongeBob movie has become a nostalgic film, with those who saw it growing up now infesting the internet, and you have what is essentially a cold disaster. Nothing serious is happening, but there is the lingering sense that one side or the other is going to set off the proverbial nuke.
The big thing is that people are making this movie seem better than it actually is. Like others before and after it, this was just a film made by Nickelodeon to expand upon one of their brands. Not that it's a bad thing, it's just business as usual and people are allowed to enjoy it. When you take away the SpongeBob elements... you're left with a few things.
1: A Quite Frankly Ordinary Plot
Had this not been a nostalgic movie nor was it released when it was... how well does the plot hold up? The jokes have always been the high point of SpongeBob, at least back then, so what happens when you take them out? You're essentially left with a quite frankly generic plot, kids can do anything, so we've heard. You could say "Well isn't this just a kids movie, why are you being so hard on the plot?" Two things, one, people made it a point to fight the stigma that cartoons are for kids. Two, you'd probably say that in defense of a movie you love that I don't like. It's a lose-lose situation no matter what.
But I'm going at the plot like this, because previous Nickelodeon movies honestly handled things better, Rugrats in Paris with its humor and the framework of Chuckie wanting a mom, and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, with kids being kids and realizing what their parents mean to them. If it doesn't sound like much in writing, you have to see the movies themselves to really understand how well their plots are executed. SpongeBob feels basic by comparison, which you can forgive if you enjoy the film, you have the right. But remember, this is a film that has been praised more than I feel it deserves, and I have to hold it to some level of scruitiny.
2: Some Quite Frankly Basic Animation
So that was one big hot take on the plot, how about another? Sorry to say, but the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie's animation could be a lot better. It's not bad, but when you stack it up against other Nickelodeon movies before it, it looks sorta cheap. To its credit, it's not something a lot of people can pick up on right away, but since SpongeBob was becoming Nickelodeon's golden cow at this rate you'd think they'd put more money into it. Just saying, the Rugrats movie trilogy The Wild Thornberrys Movie each have better animation, and those came out before. The animation here is almost lower quality than that of Hey Arnold!: The Movie, and that was intended for television.
You could say, well those movies were made with traditional animation, the SpongeBob movie was made with digital ink and paint. You could also say that the animation direction was intentional because the characters are integrated into live action scenarios, but I'll get back into that in a bit. If you have those previous movies in mind, this sticks out like a sore thumb, and you can practically see characters snap between stances.
At best, this serves as a good example of the difference between digital animation and traditional animation. It's not bad, but it could be a lot better, especially given how big SpongeBob is, and that it has been a standard that went as far as Sponge out of Water. You have the money, the resources, the relevance, you were not in any trouble, there was only one other film coming out that year, just saying.
A quick thing about continuity.
For those who've had aneurysms over minor continuity errors, you could question how SpongeBob and Patrick didn't change into props when they entered the surface like in the episode Pressure, and this was by Stephen Hillenburg. I mean then again because he was involved people will turn a blind eye.
I dunno, it's just funny how this oversight was never really brought up. If you complain about continuity, but make exceptions for certain offenses then why should I take complaints like that seriously? You can complain, but be consistent.
#3: Also has Celebrity Voice Actors
This one will be brief. A lot of people complain about celebrity voice actors in kids movies. So I take it nobody knew who Alec Baldwin or David Hasselhoff were?
It's Not Culturally Significant
I know that seems like a stretch, given how highly people hold this film, but we have to be real. Had this not been associated with SpongeBob, people probably wouldn't remember it that much. Even back then, the most this got was a 68%, which while good, isn't to the level people claim it to be, not helping that there're people who complain about the rating.
I can accept people loving the movie no matter its issues or what not, but people don't know their limits. Case in point, time ago someone attempted to copy what Shrek Retold did by reanimating the entirety of the SpongeBob Squarepants Movie, it got claimed by Viacom, and naturally people got salty. Listen, when it comes to fair use, it can only be considered as such if the video provides commentary, criticism or is a parody. Rehydrated wasn't a parody, it was just the same story told with different voices and animation, you can get the intended experience either way.
You could say that was one of many contributing factors to a parasocial relationship people made with Stephen, and he can't even say anything about it now.
To describe how little cultural significance this show had, I want to compare this to a more accurate example. Shrek. Like SpoongeBob, Shrek is one of the most memed properties on the internet. You can credit Shrek for forever changing animated cinema. It was one of the first films, or the first to truly catch on with the masses, to subvert common tropes, incorporate pop culture references and commentary, and show how lucrative the computer animation industry was.
What did SpongeBob do to the movie industry? Nothing the TV series hasn't already done. Beyond starting out as a children's book, Shrek managed to become its own thing. The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie can be considered a cash-in on the show's success, or better yet, an extension of a corporate property. There's a serious implication if you ask me, but I guess it just so happened to be a more likable film than other examples.
Final Thoughts
I never wanted to hate this movie. I grew up with it, I'm not even saying it's a bad movie, but let's face it, the fandom ruined it by making it seem bigger than it had any right to be. Whether running Stephen's name through the mud or playing dumb when it comes to a lot of the film's faults, I've had my fill, and I'm sure a lot of people are gonna hang me from a tree, or just post a comment and block me like they typically do.
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