Taglines: He’s Ready For A Brand New Day.
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run Movie Storyline. In Bikini Bottom, Plankton works on a new plan to steal the Krabby Patty formula while Karen argues that SpongeBob is actually responsible for all his previous failures and not Mr. Krabs. That same night, Plankton sneaks into the Krusty Krab and scans a sample of a Krabby Patty burger to print the formula, but SpongeBob inadvertently causes Plankton to fall into a deep fryer and lose the formula while the latter was searching for his keys. This leads Plankton to understand that Karen was right in her suspicions.
Meanwhile, miles away in Atlantic City, selfish ruler King Poseidon has just used up all the slime from his latest sea snail, which is necessary to keep him rejuvenated. Since sea snails are almost extinct, Poseidon decrees the obtaining of a new snail. Plankton finds out about this and kidnaps SpongeBob’s pet snail Gary so that SpongeBob will go to find him and thus not interfere with his plans.
The next morning, SpongeBob learns from Patrick that Gary was taken to Atlantic City. As part of his plan, Plankton offers Otto, a robot built by Sandy, to take them to the city with the hopes that they never return. Without SpongeBob cooking Krabby Patties, the Krusty Krab’s enraged customers trash the restaurant despite Mr. Krabs and Squidward’s efforts to stop them. Otto drives SpongeBob and Patrick to an old Western town where they meet a tumbleweed spirit named Sage.
Sage reveals that they are in a dream and must overcome a special mission to continue their search. He gives them a “Challenge Coin” that will embrave them into a tavern haunted by ghostly zombie pirates. Following a small musical number with Snoop Dogg, SpongeBob and Patrick discover that the pirates’ souls are trapped by an evil spirit known as “El Diablo” and their mission is to free them. El Diablo traps the duo in his office, but they accidentally disintegrate him with the sunlight by uncovering some window curtains. The pirates’ souls are freed and SpongeBob and Patrick continue on their travel until Otto wakes them up, thus revealing that everything was a dream.
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run is a 2020 American live-action/computer-animated adventure comedy film based on the animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. Directed and written by series developer and former series writer Tim Hill, who co-wrote the story with Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger,[9][2] it is the first film in the franchise to be fully animated in stylized CGI rather than traditional 2D animation.
The regular voice cast of the series reprise their respective roles from the series and the previous films, and the plot follows the origin of how SpongeBob met Gary the Snail, and SpongeBob’s quest to rescue him after he is kidnapped. It is the third theatrical film based on the series, following the first in 2004 and second in 2015. The film is dedicated to creator Stephen Hillenburg, who died in 2018, and also served as an executive producer on the project.
The film was produced by Paramount Animation, Nickelodeon Movies, and United Plankton Pictures, with animation provided by Mikros Image. Originally slated for a worldwide theatrical release by Paramount Pictures, plans were changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The film was released theatrically in Canada on August 14, 2020, digitally on Netflix in other territories on November 5, 2020. It was released as a premium video-on-demand offering and a Paramount+ launch title in the United States on March 4, 2021. Sponge on the Run received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the animation and loyalty to the series.
In the film’s debut Canadian weekend, it grossed $865,824 from 300 theaters. Since Canada’s grosses are factored into American totals, Sponge on the Run finished first at the box office, and had the highest weekend total for a film since the start of the pandemic. IndieWire estimated that had the film had a traditional North American theatrical release it would have opened to $25–30 million, including a $3 million total from Canada.
In its second weekend, despite being added to an additional 26 theaters, the film dropped 36% to $550,000, finishing second behind Unhinged. In its third weekend the film made $400,000 from 314 theaters, then $345,000 in its fourth weekend, for a month-long running total of $3.6 million.
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2021)
Directed by: Tim Hill
Starring: Tom Kenny, Awkwafina, Matt Berry, Snoop Dogg, Bill Fagerbakke, Clancy Brown, Tiffany Haddish, Carolyn Lawrence, Mr. Lawrence, Keanu Reeves, Danny Trejo, Reggie Watts
Screenplay by: Tim Hill
Production Design by: Lynne Naylor, Chris L. Spellman, Rachel Tiep-Daniels
Cinematography by: Peter Lyons Collister
Film Editing by: Michael W. Andrews
Costume Design by: Brendan Heard, Shawna Trpcic
Set Decoration by: Carla Curry
Art Direction by: Sue Mondt, Rachel Tiep-Daniels
Music by: Hans Zimmer, Steve Mazzaro
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: August 14, 2020 (Canada), March 4, 2021 (United States)
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