Spongebob SquarePants 2

[Tara]

How recent are we talking? I personally haven't watched the show in a good year, but the last batch of episodes I saw (Season 8, I think?) were actually really well-written (from a Post-Movie standpoint) and most people's complaints (gross-out gags, bad characterization) seemed to have mostly vanished...Bar Patrick. It's improved a fair bit from it's worst point a few years back.

I disagree.  I think it's only gotten worse, with gag after gag being just not very funny and outright abysmal pacing and story-telling.  Case in point, Kenny the Cat.

[Nuggets]

I disagree.  I think it's only gotten worse, with gag after gag being just not very funny and outright abysmal pacing and story-telling.  Case in point, Kenny the Cat.

Huh. While I can't attest to having seen that particular episode, I can't really agree with the claim that the show has gotten any worse- It's all a matter of opinion, but when you've got a Season with House Fancy (toenail episode), the episode where SpongeBob befriends those grotesque worms, Boating Buddies, and Squid's Visit (a horrendous venture into the depths of the relationship between a flanderized SpongeBob and a needlessly put-upon Squidward), it's hard to go anywhere but up. Things from that era seem outright offensive, or a spit in the face to the classic episodes.

The gross-out and level of character mismanagement seemed to tone down a lot after the seventh season. It definitely still existed, but not in spades like it had in that aforementioned period where generally every episode was just irritating due to some problem or just a general disappointment. Episodes from that era make their comeback now and again, because Squid Baby was a kinda recent example that felt like it came out of Season 6, but I'd say the show as a whole is on the up. Old writers like Mr. Lawrence have even returned in more recent years. A lot of episodes (most notably Plankton's Pet and Eek, An Urchin) have been very good thanks to that.

[Willsy]

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=119372

Let me guess....there are going to be a hell of a lot of bum jokes in this, aren't there? A couple of times would be fine, but I don't want them relying on toilet humour to try and appeal to the audience. I miss the intelligent and witty jokes of Classic Spongebob. ;_; I can at least hope that they don't write down to the audience in this.

On the other hand, aren't there supposed to be a few people from the original movie? And it has the director of Kung Fu Panda 2, which was a good film from what I remember. This does have potential at least....

[Milo]

Poster because Person's image link isn't working.

 

 

Yeah, not digging the old-hat live-action/CG hybrid approach (especially on the heels of Sony's Sonic film doing the same thing). I thought it was going to be mostly traditionally animation with a small segments of live-action like the first film? And if the tagline is of any indication, I fear it will be another case of Spongebob /heavily/ interacting with (if not overtaken by) humans a la Sony's Smurfs.

 

I do give them a bit of credit from choosing a different title due to the changes, rather than continuing to title it as a direct sequel to the first film. And I'm still hopeful that it will be as good as the movie/pre-season shows, since we have a few people from the old SpongeBob production staff (Paul Tibbett -pre-movie seasons writer/series executive producer- is in the director's seat and is writing the story along with Stephen Hillenburg -series creator-, who's also on board as the film's executive producer) as well as all of the VAs from the show working on the film.

[Blue Blood]

Guys, I think we're all forgetting how brilliant this could be.

[Indigo Rush]

But that was when Hillenburg was still the man in charge. :/

[Blue Blood]

But that was when Hillenburg was still the man in charge. :/

 

He's producing and co-wrote this movie.

 

(But no really we all know this is going to be awful)

[Indigo Rush]

Wait, he is?

 

Then this may not be as awful as I thought itd be.

[Willsy]

I don't think this will be awful, but I could see it being mediocre but stomachable. I'm hoping this isn't the case though, I want this to be good.

[Milo]

Guys, I think we're all forgetting how brilliant this could be.

 

That was done as a comedic gag for a few brief live-action segments though. If they were presented like that throughout the entire film that would get old fast. I can see it working as a callback to the Pressure episode it originated from / brief gag though.

 

Like, the movie's building up to SpongeBob coming out of the water so the audience will see his CG form for the first time in the movie (that is, if the underwater segments are traditionally animated). The camera changes to a different shot above the water, SpongeBob comes out, and...! He's a real sponge on a stick.

 

SpongeBob realizes the mistake, goes back into the water, and comes back out as his proper CG form. If pirates are watching the film in the theater like the last film, I could see a brick joke being made about the live-action sponge looking more animated or being a better "special effect" than the CG SpongeBob.

 

Just a hypothetical joke I had for how it could work.

[Blue Blood]

That was done as a comedic gag for a few brief live-action segments though. If they were presented like that throughout the entire film that would get old fast. I can see it working as a callback to the Pressure episode it originated from / brief gag though.

I know sarcasm doesn't translate well to text, but I kinda thought the absurdity of what I was suggesting made it obvious.

[Milo]

I know sarcasm doesn't translate well to text, but I kinda thought the absurdity of what I was suggesting made it obvious.

 

Didn't detect it, thought you were being serious. My apologies.

[ElectricAngel]

Oh dear lord. I was looking forward to this film and I even knew back when it was announced that it's gonna suck. However, now that it's announced that it'll be a CGI live action hybrid worries me. Okay, so we heard about a "new animation effort" but I really wasn't expecting CGI. It just feels weird because the other movie was 2D and it would make sense this one followed in tradition. I mean, when we saw this image

 

 

I was expecting a 2D film in Newbob style. As far as the live action goes, I hope they do an effort to get the pirates back for this film, and I really hope the live action parts will be similar to the ones in the first film. However, judging by the title that's highly unlikely. Oh well, I know I'll go watch it. For whatever reason, no matter how crappy the sponge gets, I still watch it. I guess nostalgia does that to you, huh? All I can hope is that this film doesn't shit on the legacy of the sponge. I'm expecting something in style of Classicbob. And we all know that's possible. Just look at "It's a Spongebob Christmas!". They're capable of doing it. Whew, now all I need is a trailer to at least get first impressions on. 

[Willsy]

Wait....didn't they say that the 'new animation effort' was going to be used in the series in the future....

...fuck.....fuck...fuckfuckfuckfuckFUCKNO.

They better not, I swear to god.

[ElectricAngel]

Wait....didn't they say that the 'new animation effort' was going to be used in the series in the future....

D-did they? I can't remember but if they did, that would explain furthermore why I was intrigued by this and why I assumed it was going to be 2D. To be honest, I expected them to have better shading and lighting or something, since the series can look really flat sometimes. But if it's true they will use the movie's animation in the show, then yeah. This movie will be the death of the sponge.

[Spin Attaxx]

This movie will be the death of the sponge.

>implying the sponge isn't already long dead and around 50% of the way done with decomposition

[ElectricAngel]

Oh... Ok.. Thank you time travel for showing me I was super worried about this film coming out.

 

Anyywayyy now that the forum is up and alive once again I thought I'd share my thoughts on it. I went to see it last week and... whew where do I begin.

 

Okay so I'll admit I did eventually get super hyped for this film especially after seeing all those positive reviews and I intended to watch the film on release day (February 19 over here) but it was one thing after the other so I had to see it a little late. If I'll be honest, by the time I went to see the film my hype had died down but I still went because I knew I'd have a little fun.

 

Now, let me say that I don't think I'll have the most positive feelings towards this film. For one, me, my brother and my dad went to see the film and we were the only ones at the cinema. Also the film was shown in the smallest room I had ever been with only 4 rows and a relatively small screen. I guess it has to do with what's been going on around my area lately but eh. 

 

That aside, the actual film was alright. It was funny at times and I did get some old school Spongebob vibes, though it felt more like a season 4-5 episode, despite Hillenburg working on the script. The animation though was beautiful and I couldn't stop being amazed by it. It's so cartoony which is a fantastic breath of fresh air compared to the still movements of the recent seasons. You see eyes getting tiny or bulging out, bodies stretching like they are rubber, and even detailed close ups (the funny kind, not gross cringe ones like season 6) which just make it very fun to watch. The overall story is simple, but it works. I'd argue it's the best of the "Oh no, the Krabby Patty formula is gone!" plots that have been in the show. And that one song about teamwork was really good. Would have liked at least one or two more songs in the film though. Speaking of which (spoiler alert),

Spongebob and Plankton's chemistry was really well executed.

 

Sadly, that's where my compliments end. I really wanted to love this film but several things kept it from reaching that point. One was the live action segments with Burger Beard. Him and the seagulls made it drag a bit and every time they were on screen I just kept thinking "Okay. How long 'till we get back to Spongebob?". Also the CGI/live-action segment wasn't that bad. The animation is really impressive though, keeping that flexible cartoony 2D style, but the jokes didn't hit and I didn't care for the action scenes that much. It didn't help that I was getting Alvin and the Chipmunk flashbacks when Sandy appeared on screen. 

 

Now at this point, I feel the good and bad kinda offset each other so you could say it's an alright film. However to me, it got a little worse because for some reason my local cinema decided to censor the film. Yeah, in the Middle East it's not uncommon to do this. In films for older audiences though. You know, like sex scenes. This, however, is Spongebob. And now I'm gonna spoiler this part since it does get a little spoilery. Most of the scenes that were cut out were one liners or a gag (yes, I ended up pirating the film to see what I missed) but the biggest thing that raised my eyebrow was how they cut out 2 scenes, each around 5 minutes long.

One was very important to the story, as it introduces Bubbles. And the cut was so jarring. You see Spongebob and Plankton get out of the time machine and lights appear but then it cuts to them back in the time machine like... really? Why would they do that? It only adds confusion later in the film where Spongebob says "Bubbles! We're sorry we got you fired from your day job!" because you never met the character and it's just a plot hole at that point. Another thing they cut out was the ending rap battle. They cut 2 scenes. 1 where Bubbles interrupts and that wasn't very noticeable unless like me you know the theme song and your brain realized it goes on for a bit. And at the end where Bubbles appears and says something like "Well that wasn't so bad" or something was cut. You see the triangle forming but it just cuts abruptly to the credits. And this happened with other scenes. Off the top of my head I recall when Sandy was explaining the plan and it just cuts and there's suddenly a different angle and the music shifted a bit too. And another at the end when Squidward says he wants to stay it suddenly cuts to Spongebob writing on the paper for them to go back, making him look like a dick. It also takes away from the gag where Squidward keeps his abs.

And these cuts I don't understand why they were made. There was literally no reason for them to do so and it really did take away from my enjoyment of the film. Because when cuts are obvious like that it irritates me and just makes me wish I hadn't payed to watch it at the cinema.

 

That aside, overall the film was alright. I would buy it on Blu-Ray and I'd watch it a few more times. Of course, like many that review this film, I'd say watch it if you're a fan of Spongebob. And don't expect too much influence from early seasons. It's there, but leaning towards a more season 4-ish type of vibe. Not bad, but it could be better.

[GuyWithThePie]

Apologies for bringing up a topic that was last updated 10 days ago, but shouldn't the title of this topic be changed to reflect on the movie's title?

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