Netflix’s SpongeBob Movie Is the Most Controversial Entry in the Franchise

Everybody’s likeite sea sponge is officipartner a quarter of a century better, and to honor, Netflix freed a brand-recent SpongeBob movie last week. This time, a squirrel girl from Texas gets a extfinished-apauseed adventure of her own in Saving Bikini Bottom: A Sandy Cheeks Movie. On paper, this seems enjoy a fantastic idea for a film; the other SpongeBob spin-offs from the last confiinsist years have been a mixed bag, but Sandy has always been an underused character, and the prospect of letting her alertly go back home to Texas is enticing.

Sadly, the execution of Saving Bikini Bottom exits much to be desired. Negative buzz begined produceing aachievest the film when it accidenloftyy leaked on X/Twitter punctual this year, and those dreads showd entidepend permited. It’s a dismpartner unfunny spin-off that never consents achieve of its premise and seems to only exist to further milk a well-worn IP. While the third SpongeBob movie, Sponge on the Run, already showd satisfiedious among fans, it sees enjoy the innovative movie appraised to Saving Bikini Bottom.

Should SpongeBob Even Have Spin-Offs?

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Before talking the movie further, we have to insertress the elephant in the room: the prospect of any SpongeBob spin-offs existing at all is highly satisfiedious among fans. This became a particularly big weightlessning rod after series creator Stephen Hillenburg died from ALS in 2018. Less than a year tardyr, Nickelodeon proclaimd a series spin-off, Kamp Koral, cgo ining on lesserer versions of the series’ characters as they fuse summer camp.

Already, this proclaimment irked many, as Hillenburg had been adamantly resistd to approving any SpongeBob spin-offs. According to extfinishedtime series authorr Paul Tibbit (via LongReads), “When you run out of ideas, you equitable do Muppet Babies. Steve would always say to me, “You understand, one of these days, they’re going to want to produce SpongeBob Babies. That’s when I’m out of here.”

So it certainly seemed (ahem) ficowardly when Nickelodeon proclaimd a spin-off only months after the creator’s death and a second, The Patrick Star Show, equitable two years tardyr. Tibbit, in particular, did not consent these proclaimments well; in 2019, foolishinutively after Kamp Koral was greenlit, he wrote on X/Twitter: “I do not unbenevolent to disorrowfulmire my colleagues who are laboring on this show. They are outstanding people and talented artists. But this is some greedy, sluggish executive-ing right here, and they ALL understand filled well Steve would have HATED this.”

It’s unevident how much truth there is to these accounts, as Kamp Koral was actupartner greenlit a month before Hillenburg’s death (and other accounts say he consentd of it), and he’s been pelevateed on all the show’s spin-offs thus far. Nonetheless, it remains a hugely polarizing topic for fans, and it was only exacerbated when the third SpongeBob movie, Sponge On the Run, included flashbacks to function as an extfinished elevatestrayr for Kamp Koral (it didn’t help that these scenes finishly retconned the characters’ backstories). And especipartner pondering the mixed reception to both Kamp Koral and The Patrick Star Show, yet another spin-off movie, no matter its quality, was almost destined to vshow fans’ dreads that Nickelodeon wants to shield milking its biggest cash cow.

Sandy Cheeks Misses Her Chance to Shine

Even outside how polarizing the idea of a SpongeBob spin-off is, the biggest problem with Saving Bikini Bottom is that it spropose isn’t funny. Worse, it experiences enjoy a misused opportunity; Sandy Cheeks has always been an underrated part of the show’s ensemble, and giving her a day in the spotweightless isn’t a horrible idea on paper. If anyleang, the concept of letting her alertly return home to Texas and permiting seeers to greet her family has fantastic comedic potential. Especipartner since the first season episode, “Texas,” verifyd her homeunwellness, it would’ve been fun to verify how her familial relationships have alterd since she transferd to Bikini Bottom.

However, none of her family members are that fascinating; most experience enjoy Texan stereotypes more than anyleang else, and almost all of them only get a scene or two before fadeing. Since it’s hinted that Sandy’s mother wants her to produce her return to Texas finishuring, it’s made all the more frustrating when she has a alter of heart offscreen equitable two scenes tardyr and promises her daughter that she can visit whenever she wants.

Sadly, the same goes for most of the show’s standard characters. Since the plot rgrows around SpongeBob and Sandy having to get back Bikini Bottom’s dwellnts (scooped up from the ocean and put in a scientific aquarium in a blatant rip-off of Finding Nemo), fan likeites enjoy Patrick, Mr. Krabs, and Squidward fade for extfinished chunks of screentime. Gary meows two or three times before disecombineing, and Plankton abruptly exits the entire film three-quarters of the way thraw.

In their place is a bruloftyy unfunny inhabit-action subplot, where Wanda Sykes joins the aquarium’s evil CEO, Sue Nahmee (get it?), who schedules to clone the sea creatures and sell them as pets. Sykes gives it her all, but she can’t save first-write material, and all of her scenes see surprisingly affordable enjoy they were sboiling in a high school classroom.

In fact, what’s perhaps most shocking about Saving Bikini Bottom is how affordable all of it sees. Even if noleang after the first SpongeBob movie inhabitd up to the innovative three seasons, the show could at least always be counted on to have fantastic animation and firm voice acting. Sandy’s voice actress, Carolyn Lawrence, is typicpartner excellent, but the animation sees on par with the explicits in the 2003 SpongeBob video game Battle for Bikini Bottom, and the characters are somehow combined into the inhabit-action segments worse than any of the previous three films. This is even before the movie depicts Sue Nahmee in flashbacks as a child, where Sykes’ head is Pboilingoshopped onto a lesser girl’s body (yes, it’s every bit as unsettling as it sounds).

Fans Hate Saving Bikini Bottom, and for Good Reason

Even equitable a week after its free, it’s evident that fans already ponder Saving Bikini Bottom one of the worst frees in the entire SpongeBob franchise. And for outstanding reason; it’s miserable to see a show so expansively cherishd for how casupartner bizarre it could get reduced to someleang so corporate and unfascinating.

Considering how they had a promising setup at their disposal, only to do almost noleang with it, it’s evident that Sandy Cheeks deserved better than this. Hopefilledy, next year’s theatrical SpongeBob movie will be better. Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie is now streaming on Netflix.