Are you prepared, youngsters? As a result of I’ve a SpongeBob SquarePants opinion that you simply’re in all probability not going to love.
Okay, perhaps you’ll, maybe you will not, however I’ve to speak about it. For the previous few years, we have seen a steep inflow of SpongeBob SquarePants motion pictures. Both they’re launched on streaming or they arrive out in theaters, however more often than not, they’re fairly profitable. Heck, one has even come out this yr as a part of the 2025 Netflix schedule—Plankton: The Film.
To my era, you’d assume that is the tip of the world if you converse to them. There are such a lot of avid SpongeBob followers who imagine that these motion pictures are ruining Stephen Hillenburg’s identify (the creator of the unique present) and the whole lot else that made the sequence nice. However I’ve one thing to say – the films are literally nonetheless enjoyable, and I believe all of us have to take a deep breath and take a look at the massive image right here.
Let Me Begin By Saying I Grew Up On SpongeBob, So I am Passionate About It
It is easy to let you know that I grew up watching SpongeBob SquarePants as a result of I am Gen Z. The present just about outlined our childhood. I can let you know the finest SpongeBob SquarePants episodes or I might go on and on in regards to the finest SpongeBob specials. Both manner, I am a large fan of this present.
I all the time have been, actually. SpongeBob was one of many few exhibits that my brother (who’s 5 years older than me) and I watched on a regular basis as youngsters, and one of many few issues we bonded over earlier than we grew up. Right now, we nonetheless speak in SpongeBob quotes, and our mother and father nonetheless do not perceive half of what we are saying—as a result of it is our factor. So this present means rather a lot to me.
Honestly, the films do as nicely. The primary one means probably the most – because it got here out again in theaters and it was the very best factor ever for little outdated me. I am going to even watch it now after I’m feeling down. So, I actually do love this sequence – which is why I wished to speak about how the brand new motion pictures aren’t that unhealthy.
I Was A Bit Hesitant On The New Films, However They Are, At The Very Least, Inventive
Look, say what you need in regards to the SpongeBob spinoffs which have come out. I am personally extra iffy on these simply because it is that sort of stuff the unique creator did not need. However as for the movies? I genuinely get pleasure from them.
After all, I used to be hesitant at first – all of us could be. When one thing modifications its animation fashion or its supply of jokes, it may be daunting at first – scary, even. That is what we’re used to as youngsters, and seeing a franchise remodel itself so powerfully, other than the voice actors, is taken into account a shock to the system. However I gave a few of the motion pictures an opportunity, they usually’re really actually inventive and a number of enjoyable.
I went into many of those with an open thoughts—the SpongeBob mainline movie sequence with Sponge Out of Water, Sponge on the Run and all that, in addition to the Netflix spinoff movies. I knew they weren’t going to be precisely just like the present I grew up on, however that was okay.
And even should you’re not an enormous fan of the jokes, the films are inventive. The animation fashion is enjoyable when you get used to it, and a few actually well-done sequences are fairly distinctive that make you snicker and scratch your head since you surprise, “How on earth did somebody provide you with this?”
However that is all the time been the great thing about the sequence – the present is simply loopy in some ways, and the animation in these movies capitalizes on that, simply differently.
Some Of The Jokes Do not Land As Effectively, However Humor Has Modified A Lot – And So Have Children
Look, the jokes aren’t the identical, and the humor in SpongeBob won’t ever be the identical. However do you know that this sequence has run for 25 years? A lot in order that it’s now formally the longest-running youngsters’s animated sequence ever, previous Arthur?
Yeah, humor has modified rather a lot.
I am not simply saying the acceptance of humor – as we have already gone over Nickelodeon eradicating older episodes of SpongeBob as a result of that. I am speaking about simply the sort of jokes we discover humorous now, or perhaps we assume they don’t seem to be humorous, however a distinct era finds them humorous. Among the jokes do not land for us, however hey, we’re adults now, and these movies are made for youths, and they giggle – and that is all that actually issues on the finish of the day.
I am certain that as youngsters, we discovered jokes within the authentic episodes of the present completely hysterical, however our mother and father simply did not perceive on the time. The identical wheel has revolved round, and now we are the adults not fairly getting it—and that is okay. As a result of these motion pictures aren’t for us.
And Even Then, There Are Nonetheless Issues Adults Will Get pleasure from Too
Even so, there are nonetheless moments in these movies that adults can get pleasure from as a result of a lot of them take a deeper dive into characters that everyone knows and love and do not simply give attention to the sponge of all of it.
Take Plankton: The Film, for instance. Does the movie go in opposition to sure issues which have been in SpongeBob lore for years? After all it does. With a present that runs for 25 years, it is laborious to maintain observe of all of it.
However you need to know what’s enjoyable about it for adults? The truth that we know the characters.
You cheer for Plankton and Karen, the 2 foremost characters of this movie, as a result of we find out about their relationship after so lengthy. It is a lot enjoyable watching Karen lastly turn into an evil genius and seeing Plankton understand how a lot he cares about her. It is like coming residence to outdated pals.
No, this movie will not win any Oscars, however man, as a SpongeBob fan, I actually loved it. I believe different SpongeBob followers will, too.
Simply As a result of The Films Aren’t Like The Ones You Keep in mind Does not Imply That Different Folks Do not Discover Pleasure In Them
That is my largest difficulty. Whereas I do assume that the brand new SpongeBob movies are enjoyable, it all the time bothers me each time somebody dumps on them merely for his or her animation, joke fashion, and so on. Do you not have higher methods to spend your time than tweeting offended replies on a social media platform?
Simply because you do not get pleasure from it does not imply there aren’t tens of millions of others on the market who do. There is a cause these motion pictures and episodes maintain getting made—as a result of individuals watch them. They get pleasure from them. Whereas I am not the goal demographic anymore, and I do not plan to observe the brand new episodes or exhibits that always, I can at the least perceive why now.
I am saying that subsequent time, you may give the films an opportunity as an alternative of simply blindly hating them from afar. This present primarily crafted our childhood. We actually find out about Nosferatu from this sequence; individuals my age, full-grown adults, nonetheless watch the sooner episodes. Who’re we to take that pleasure from a brand new era of followers with the most recent fashion of animation?
Let individuals love what they love. After which you possibly can watch what you watch. However do not hate the movies simply because it is one thing you are uncomfortable with – that is simply ignorance. Hop on the ‘I am Prepared’ prepare for a brand new era.