It has been a long wait for fans of the little yellow sponge.
Since 2003, only a couple of new episodes of Nickelodeon's immensely popular "SpongeBob SquarePants" have hit the airwaves because the show's creators were busy bringing the "absorbent one" to the big screen.
On Friday, "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" hits theaters, and not a second too soon. Staying true to the TV show's trademark quirky humor while delivering a solid dose of big-time adventure, "SpongeBob SquarePants" has a little something for everyone.
After toiling for years as chief fry cook at the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob (voiced by Tom Kenny) is all set to accept his promotion to manager of the new Krusty Krab 2. But Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown), instead hands over the reins of the new restaurant to SpongeBob's cranky friend, Squidward Tentacles (Rodger Bumpass).
Heartbroken, SpongeBob goes on an ice cream binge with his trusty, but not-so-sharp pal, Patrick Star (Bill Fagerbakke). Meanwhile, Mr. Krabs' chief competitor, Plankton (Doug Lawrence), sets into a motion an evil plan to steal the secret recipe for the Krusty Krab's specialty sandwich, the Krabby Patty.
When Mr. Krabs incurs the wrath of King Neptune (Jeffrey Tambor) because of Plankton's scheme, SpongeBob and Patrick take on the challenge of proving Mr. Krabs' innocence by embarking on a dangerous adventure. Along the way, the duo is aided by King Neptune's gentle daughter, Mindy (Scarlett Johanssen), and David Hasselhoff (not as a cartoon, as himself).
Granted, "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" is nowhere near high art. But to the film's credit, it is like nothing else that has appeared in theaters.
For the uninitiated, "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" might be a little too much to take in the first time around. Scenes that seem to make absolutely no sense, are intended as such and might be lost on the first-timer. If you need some consistency and believability in your moviegoing experience, you will be sadly disappointed.
But big-time fans of the TV series should be pleased with this movie. Fans of SpongeBob and Patrick will get their fill of the dynamic duo, but fans of Squidward and some of the reappearing characters on the TV series (Sandy, for instance) will be a little disappointed. Series creator Stephen Hillenburg didn't stray too far off the series' storyline and yet added just little more to give it that big screen feel.
"The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" won't be the best movie you've seen all year, but boy is it a lot of fun.
