The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015)
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SpongeBob and Plankton must form an uneasy alliance to retrieve a stolen secret formula that has led their underwater town into chaos.
The story
When the secret formula for Krabby Patties mysteriously disappears, the underwater city of Bikini Bottom devolves into chaos. SpongeBob SquarePants and his rival, Plankton, form an uneasy alliance to find the missing recipe. Their quest leads them from the ocean floor to the surface, where they encounter a pirate named Burger Beard. Burger Beard possesses a magical book capable of making any written text come true. To save their home and reclaim the formula, the group must navigate a series of fantastical obstacles and confront the pirate's magical powers.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
A pirate named Burger Beard travels to Bikini Atoll and obtains a magical book that makes any text written upon it real. The book tells the story of SpongeBob SquarePants in Bikini Bottom. When Plankton steals the Krabby Patty secret formula using a robotic decoy, the formula abruptly disappears, leaving Bikini Bottom a wasteland. SpongeBob and Plankton team up to time travel to the past to retrieve it, but they find only a fake. Sandy Cheeks suggests a sacrifice to the 'sandwich gods,' and SpongeBob volunteers. They follow a scent to the surface, where Bubbles, a magical dolphin, allows them to breathe on land. They discover Burger Beard has stolen the formula and converted his ship into a food truck. Using a page from the magical book, SpongeBob transforms the group into superheroes. They battle Burger Beard, destroy the book, and eventually reclaim the formula. Plankton becomes a muscle-bound hero to help defeat the pirate, and the group returns to Bikini Bottom, where life returns to normal.
- First release year
- 2015
- Runtime (minutes)
- 92
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Paul Tibbitt
- Writers
- Jonathan Aibel · screenplay; Glenn Berger · screenplay; Stephen Hillenburg · story; Paul Tibbitt · story
- Cast and characters
- Antonio Banderas · Burger Beard; Tom Kenny · SpongeBob SquarePants, Gary the Snail, and various; Clancy Brown · Mr. Krabs; Bill Fagerbakke · Patrick Star and various; Rodger Bumpass · Squidward Tentacles and various; Carolyn Lawrence · Sandy Cheeks; Mr. Lawrence · Plankton and various; Matt Berry · Bubbles
- Genres
- adventure; comedy
- Themes
- friendship; teamwork; sacrifice
- Tone and mood
- cheerful; surreal; humorous
- Premise and plot tags
- time travel; superheroes; pirates; magic
- Source material / true-story basis
- SpongeBob SquarePants television series
- Franchise connections
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing film in the series.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 62 · scale: 100 · review count: 27; CinemaScore · score: B · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film was dedicated to Ernest Borgnine, the voice of Mermaid Man, who died in 2012.; It features the final film role of Tim Conway, the voice of Barnacle Boy, who died in 2019.; The film's first teaser poster was a nod to the 1950s Coppertone sunscreen advertisements.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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