Nickelodeon Movies Fanon Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Advertisement
Register
Nickelodeon Movies Fanon Wiki
Nickelodeon Movies Fanon Wiki
3,827
pages
in: Pages with reference errors, Film series introduced in 2004, 2000s comedy films,
and 15 more

SpongeBob SquarePants (film series)

Sign in to edit

SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated/live-action comedy film series based on the Nickelodeon television program of the same name, created by Stephen Hillenburg. It began in 2004 with the release of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. The series is distributed and owned by Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of Nickelodeon's parent company Viacom. All films feature the regular television voice cast: Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Clancy Brown, Mr. Lawrence, Jill Talley, Carolyn Lawrence, Mary Jo Catlett and Lori Alan. The first installment was directed by Hillenburg, and all subsequent films were directed by former showrunner Paul Tibbitt.

Plans for a film based on the series began in 2001, when Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures began approaching Stephen Hillenburg for a theatrical feature. He initially refused their offers, but began developing it in 2002 upon completion of the show's third season. The first movie was theatrically released in the United States on November 19, 2004 to critical and commercial success. It was originally planned to act as the series finale, but the franchise's success led to the production of more episodes. A stand-alone sequel followed in 2015 and a third film is slated to finish production in 2020.

All films in the series have been made available on DVD, Blu-Ray, digital download, streaming media and video on demand.[1] The first installment was also made available on VHS.

Films[]

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004)[]

Main article: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie

In this live-action animated comedy, Plankton's plan is to steal King Neptune's crown and send it to the dangerous Shell City. SpongeBob and Patrick must retrieve the crown to save Mr. Krabs from Neptune's wrath and Bikini Bottom from Plankton's tyranny.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015)[]

Main article: The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water

The plot follows a pirate called Burger-Beard, who steals the Krabby Patty secret formula using a magical book that makes any text written upon it come true. SpongeBob and his friends must travel to the surface to confront Burger-Beard and get the formula back.

The SpongeBob Movie: It's a Wonderful Sponge (2020)[]

Main article: The SpongeBob Movie: It's a Wonderful Sponge

On April 30, 2015, Viacom announced a third movie was in development, under the working title SpongeBob SquarePants 3.[2] On August 3, 2015, via Twitter, Vincent Waller confirmed that the sequel is in pre-production and that Paul Tibbitt will once again direct.[3] The film was initially set to be released on February 8, 2019, but was pushed to August 2, 2019 in March 2017.[4] In December 2017, the film's release was delayed again to July 31, 2020.[5] On March 28, 2017, Yahoo! Movies reported on its Twitter feed that the movie had been given the title The SpongeBob Movie.[6] Showrunner Vincent Waller later suggested that this was a placeholder title.[7] The voice cast includes Tom Kenny, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass, Bill Fagerbakke, Carolyn Lawrence and Mr. Lawrence.[8] In April 2018, it was announced that the film would be titled It's a Wonderful Sponge, that it would be written and directed by Tim Hill, and that it would have a new release date of July 22, 2020.[9][10]


SpongeBob's Magical Adventure (2020)[]

Main article: SpongeBob's Magical Adventure

Coming to Theaters July 6, 2020.

SpongeBob's Magical Adventure 2: The Legend of the Arendelle Castle (2021)[]

Main article: SpongeBob's Magical Adventure 2: The Legend of the Arendelle Castle

Coming to Theaters July 30, 2021.

Cast and characters[]

Template:Further

Characters Films
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run SpongeBob's Magical Adventure SpongeBob's Magical Adventure 2: The Legend of the Arendelle Castle
Template:Small Template:Small Template:Small Template:Small Template:Small
SpongeBob SquarePants Tom Kenny
Gary the Snail
Patrick Star Bill Fagerbakke
Squidward Tentacles Rodger Bumpass
Mr. Krabs Clancy Brown
Sheldon Plankton Mr. Lawrence
Karen Plankton Jill Talley
Sandy Cheeks Carolyn Lawrence
Mrs. Puff Mary Jo Catlett
Pearl Krabs Lori Alan
King Neptune Jeffrey Tambor
Princess Mindy Scarlett Johansson
Dennis Alec Baldwin
David Hasselhoff Himself
Burger-Beard Antonio Banderas
Bubbles Matt Berry

Production[]

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie[]

Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures had approached SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg for a film based on the show as early as 2001, but he refused for more than a year.[11] He was concerned, after watching The Iron Giant and Toy Story with his sons, about the challenge of SpongeBob and Patrick doing something more cinematically-consequential and inspiring without losing what he calls the SpongeBob "cadence."[11] He said, on a break from season four post-production, "To do a 75-minute movie about SpongeBob wanting to make some jellyfish jelly would be a mistake, I think [...] This had to be SpongeBob in a great adventure. That's where the comedy's coming from, having these two naïve characters, SpongeBob and Patrick, a doofus and an idiot, on this incredibly dangerous heroic odyssey with all the odds against them."[11] The writers decided to write a mythical hero's quest for the 2004 film: the search for a stolen crown, which brings SpongeBob and Patrick to the surface.[12] Of the plot, Bill Fagerbakke (the voice of Patrick) said, "It's just nuts. I'm continually dazzled and delighted with what these guys came up with."[13]

Production on the first film began in 2002 after Hillenburg and the show's staff completed the third season.[14] A tongue-in-cheek announcement of the film's plot from early on stated that it would feature SpongeBob rescuing Patrick from a fisherman in Florida.[14] This was intended as a humorous reference to Finding Nemo and was later confirmed by Tom Kenny (the voice of SpongeBob) to be a "joke" plot to keep fans busy.[14] Hillenburg wrote the film with five other writer-animators from the show (Paul Tibbitt, Derek Drymon, Aaron Springer, Kent Osborne and Tim Hill) over a three-month period in a room of a former Glendale, California bank.[11] Osborne said, "It was hugely fun [...] although it did get kind of gamy in there."[11] At the beginning of the series, Hillenburg screened a number of silent shorts (from Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton) and work by two modern comic actors: Jerry Lewis and Pee-wee Herman, who were both inspirations for SpongeBob.[12]

The first film was intended to be the series finale; Hillenburg wanted to end the franchise after the movie was completed so it "wouldn't jump the shark". However, Nickelodeon desired more episodes due to the franchise's growing popularity.[15] Hillenburg stated: "Well, there was concern when we did the movie [in 2004] that the show had peaked. There were concerns among executives at Nickelodeon."[16][17] As a result, Hillenburg resigned as the series' showrunner,[18] appointing writer, director, and storyboard artist Paul Tibbitt to succeed him.[19] Tibbitt was one of Hillenburg's favorite crew members:[20] "[I] totally trusted him."[21] Tibbitt would remain showrunner until he was succeeded in 2015 by the show's creative director Vincent Waller and staff writer Marc Ceccarelli. He also acted as an executive producer from 2008 to 2016.[19][22] From the fourth season to the ninth, Hillenburg did not write or run the show on a day-to-day basis, but reviewed each episode and submitted suggestions: "I figure when I'm pretty old I can still paint [...] I don't know about running shows."[18][23] In 2015, Hillenburg returned to the show following the completion of the second movie as an executive producer, now having greater creative input and attending crew meetings.[24][25]

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water[]

In 2010, The New York Times reported that Nickelodeon had approached the show's crew to make a second film adaptation.[26] The network hoped to give itself and the global franchise "a boost" by releasing another film.[27] The Los Angeles Times reported that Paramount had "another SpongeBob picture" in development in March 2011.[28] Philippe Dauman, then president and CEO of Paramount and Viacom, officially announced on February 28, 2012 that a sequel film was in development and slated for a 2014 release. He stated that Viacom "will be releasing a SpongeBob movie at the end of 2014."[29][30][31] Dauman added that the film "will serve to start off or be one of our films that starts off our new animation effort."[29] Nickelodeon expected the film to do much better in foreign box office than the 2004 feature, given its increasingly global reach.[27][32] Dauman said, "This will continue to propel SpongeBob internationally."[27]

Production on the second movie was announced on June 10, 2014 under the title The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 2,[33][34] which some trade publications began referring to as SpongeBob SquarePants 2 and SpongeBob SquarePants 2: The Movie.[35] Stephen Hillenburg returned to act as the film's executive producer.[18][23] In a 2012 interview with former cast member Thomas F. Wilson, Hillenburg stated that he was contributing to the story of the film.[36] Tibbitt later revealed on Twitter in late 2013 that "Steve [Hillenburg] and I wrote the new movie together and he has been in the studio everyday working with us."[37] Production on the film was expected to finish in November 2014.[38]

Reception[]

Box office performance[]

Film Release date Box office Budget Template:Nowrap
Opening weekend
North America 		North America Other territories Worldwide
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Template:Dts $32,018,216 $85,417,988 $54,743,804 $140,161,792 $30 million [39]
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water Template:Dts $55,365,012 $162,994,032 $160,442,506 $323,436,538 $74 million [40]
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run Template:Dts $55,365,012 $162,994,032 $160,442,506 $323,436,538 $74 million [41]
SpongeBob's Magical Adventure Template:Dts $55,365,012 $162,994,032 $160,442,506 $323,436,538 $74 million [42]
SpongeBob's Magical Adventure 2: The Legend of the Arendelle Castle Template:Dts $55,365,012 $162,994,032 $160,442,506 $323,436,538 $74 million [42] Total $87,383,228 $248,412,020 $215,186,310 $463,598,330 $104 million

Critical and public reception[]

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 68% (125 reviews)[43] 66 (32 reviews)[44] B+[45]
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water 80% (100 reviews)[46] 62 (27 reviews)[47] B[48]
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run 100% (300 reviews)[49] 62 (27 reviews)[47] B[48]
SpongeBob's Magical Adventure 69% (129 reviews)
SpongeBob's Magical Adventure 2: The Legend of the Arendelle Castle 70% (131 reviews)

Crew[]

Film Director(s) Producer(s) Writer(s) Composer Cinematographer Editor
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Stephen Hillenburg
Mark Osborne Template:Small 		Stephen Hillenburg and Julia Pistor Derek Drymon, Tim Hill, Stephen Hillenburg, Kent Osborne, Aaron Springer & Paul Tibbitt Gregor Narholz Jerzy Zielinski Lynn Hobson
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water Paul Tibbitt
Mike Mitchell Template:Small 		Paul Tibbitt and Mary Parent Screenplay: Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger
Story: Stephen Hillenburg & Paul Tibbitt 		John Debney Phil Méheux David Ian Salter
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run Tim Hill Paul Tibbitt Screenplay: Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger
Story: Paul Tibbitt & Kyle McCulloch
SpongeBob's Magical Adventure Tim Hill Ryan Harris
Denise Nolan Cascino 		Screenplay: Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger
Score: Hans Zimmer 		Kristen Bell Josh Gad Idina Menzel
SpongeBob's Magical Adventure 2: The Legend of the Arendelle Castle Paul Tibbitt
Stephen Hillenburg 		Tim Hill
Ryan Harris
Denise Nolan Cascino 		Screenplay: Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger
Score: Hans Zimmer 		Kristen Bell Josh Gad Idina Menzel

References[]

Template:Reflist

TV movies Kenan & Kel: Two Heads Are Better Than None (2000) • CatDog and the Great Parent Mystery (2000) • Rocket Power: Race Across New Zealand (2002) • Jimmy Neutron: The Egg-pire Strikes Back (2003) • As Told by Ginger: Far from Home (2003) • The Electric Piper (2003) • Rocket Power: Reggie's Big (Beach) Break (2003) • Rocket Power: Island of the Menehune (2004) • Dora's Fairytale Adventure (2004) • Drake & Josh Go Hollywood (2006) • Dora's World Adventure! (2006) • Zoey 101: Spring Break-Up (2006) • Shredderman Rules (2007) • The Last Day of Summer (2007) • Zoey 101: The Curse of PCA (2007) • Gym Teacher: The Movie (2008) • Zoey 101: Goodbye Zoey? (2008) • iCarly: iGo to Japan (2008) • Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh (2008) • Zoey 101: Chasing Zoey (2008) • Spectacular! (2009) • Mr. Troop Mom (2009) • Fred: The Movie (2010) • The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (2010) • Best Player (2011) • iParty with Victorious (2011) • A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner! (2011) • Big Time Movie (2012) • Rags (2012) • A Fairly Odd Christmas (2012) • Nicky Deuce (2013) • Swindle (2013) • Jinxed (2013) • Terry the Tomboy (2014) • A Fairly Odd Summer (2014) • Santa Hunters (2014) • Genie In A Bikini (2015) • Splitting Adam (2015) • One Crazy Cruise (2015) • The Massively Mixed-Up Middle School Mystery (2015) • Liar, Liar, Vampire (2015) • Rufus (2016) • Lost in the West (2016) (miniseries) • Legends of the Hidden Temple (2016) • Albert (2016) • Rufus 2 (2017) • Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library (2017) • Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie (2017) • The Fairly Odd Phantom (2017) • Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling (2018) • The Loud House: Schooled! (2020)
Animated films Charlotte's Web (1973) • The Simpsons Movie: The Sorcerers of Notre Dame (1996) • The Rugrats Movie (1998) • Legend of the Army: Waternoose Military Factory (1998) • Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000) • Mitchell Van Morgan (2000) • Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001) • Hey Arnold!: The Movie (2002) • The All Grown Up Movie: Rugrats Flying (2002) • The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002) • Rugrats Go Wild (2003) • Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure (2003) • G.I. Joe: Spy Troops: The Movie (2003) • G.I. Joe: Spy Troops: The Movie (film) (2003) • G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom (2004) • Titan A.E. 2 (2004) • The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2005) • The All Grown Up Movie: Shores on the Ocean (2005) • Legend of the Army: Gaston's University (2005) • Barnyard (2006) • Rango (2011) • The Adventures of Tintin (2011) • The Nicktoons Movie (2013) • The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015) • Wonder Park (2019) • The SpongeBob Movie: It's a Wonderful Sponge (2020) • The Backyardigans Movie (2020) • The Loud House Movie (2021) •Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022)•Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie (2022)
Live-action films Indiana Jones and the Still Complete (1989) • Harriet The Spy (1996) • Good Burger (1997) • Snow Day (2000) • The Jimmy Neutron Movie (2001) • Clockstoppers (2002) • Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) • Mad Hot Ballroom (2005) • Yours, Mine & Ours (2005) • Nacho Libre (2006) • Charlotte's Web (2006) • The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) • Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008) • Hotel for Dogs (2009) • Imagine That (2009) • The Last Airbender (2010) • Fun Size (2012) • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016) • Monster Trucks (2017) • Avatar: The Last Airbender Movie (2017) • Mitchell Van Morgan (2018) • Dora the Explorer (live-action film) (2019) • Playing with Fire (2019) • Are You Afraid of the Dark? (2019) • Rugrats (2020 (2020) • Clifford the Big Red Dog (2021)
Film Franchises Rugrats (1998–Present) • Mitchell Van Morgan (2000–present) • Rocket Power (2000–2005) • Jimmy Neutron (2001–2013) • Hey Arnold! (2002–2017) • The Wild Thornberrys (2002–03) • Charlotte's Web (2003–2006) • The Fairly OddParents (2003–2016) • SpongeBob SquarePants (2004–present) • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2009–Present) • Avatar: The Last Airbender (2010) • The Adventures of Tintin (2011–present) • Rocko's Modern Life (2019) • The Loud House (2020)
Characters from the Film Franchises Rugrats and All Grown Up! (Tommy Pickles, Dil Pickles, Chuckie Finster, Phil DeVille, Angelica Pickles, Susie Carmichael, Kimi Finster, Lil DeVille) • The Simpsons (Bart Simpson, Jimbo Jones, Homer Simpson, Marge Simpson, Lisa Simpson, Maggie Simpson) • Mitchell Van Morgan (Mitchell Van Morgan, Gavin O'Neal Davis, Carolyn Ashley Taylor, Jennifer Hooker, Martin J. Moody, David Jessie Drake, Nicholas Dunn, Marquessa) • Jimmy Neutron (Jimmy Neutron, Sheen Estevez, Carl Wheezer, Cindy Vortex, Libby Folfax, Goddard, Hugh Neutron, Judy Neutron) • Hey Arnold! (Arnold Shortman, Gerald Johanssen, Helga Pataki, Phoebe Heyerdahl, Harold Berman, Stinky Peterson, Sid, Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, Eugene Horowitz, Lila Sawyer) • The Wild Thornberrys (Eliza Thornberry, Nigel Thornberry, Marianne Thornberry, Donnie Thornberry, Debbie Thornberry, Darwin) • Charlotte's Web (Wilbur, Charlotte A. Cavatica, John Arable, Fern Arable, Templeton, Avery Arable, Homer Zuckerman, Henry Fussy, Dr. Dorian, Uncle and Charlotte's children) • G.I. Joe: Spy Troops: The Movie and Valor vs. Venom (Duke, Scarlett Wild Bill, Heavy Duty, Shipwreck, Snake Eyes, Agent Faces, Gung-Ho, Flint, Hi-Tech, BeachHead and General Hawk) • SpongeBob SquarePants (SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Star, Squidward Tentacles, Sandy Cheeks, Mr. Krabs, Plankton and Karen, Mrs. Puff, Pearl Krabs, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy) • Rocket Power (Otto, Twister Reggie, Sam, Raymondo and Tito) • The Fairly OddParents (Timmy Turner, Cosmo, Wanda, Vicky, Poof and Sparky) • Avatar: The Last Airbender (Aang, Prince Zuko, Katara, Sokka, Uncle Iroh, Commander Zhao, Princess Yue, Fire Lord Ozai, Princess Azula) • The Adventures of Tintin (2011–present) • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, Splinter, April O'Neil, Casey Jones, Shredder) • Dora The Explorer (Dora, Boots, Backpack, Map, Swiper, Diego) • The Loud House (Lincoln Loud, Lori Loud, Leni Loud, Luna Loud, Lynn Loud, Jr., Lucy Loud, Lana Loud, Lola Loud, Lisa Loud, Lily Loud, Clyde McBride)
  1. ↑ Template:Cite web
  2. ↑ Template:Cite web
  3. ↑ Template:Cite web
  4. ↑ Template:Cite web
  5. ↑ http://deadline.com/2017/12/johnny-knoxville-action-point-spongebob-squarepant-movie-release-dates-paramount-1202229994/
  6. ↑ Template:Cite web
  7. ↑ Template:Cite web
  8. ↑ Template:Cite web
  9. ↑ Template:Cite web
  10. ↑ Template:Cite web
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Template:Cite web
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Template:Cite web
  13. ↑ The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: The Absorbing Tale Behind The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. DVD. Paramount Home Entertainment, 2005.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Template:Cite news
  15. ↑ Template:Cite web
  16. ↑ Template:Cite web
  17. ↑ Template:Cite web
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Template:Cite web
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Template:Cite web
  20. ↑ Template:Cite video
  21. ↑ Template:Cite web
  22. ↑ Template:Cite web
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Template:Cite web
  24. ↑ Template:Cite web
  25. ↑ Template:Cite web
  26. ↑ Template:Cite news
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Template:Cite web
  28. ↑ Template:Cite web
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Template:Cite news
  30. ↑ Template:Cite news
  31. ↑ Template:Cite web
  32. ↑ Template:Cite web
  33. ↑ Template:Cite news
  34. ↑ Template:Cite web
  35. ↑ Template:Cite web
  36. ↑ Template:Cite video
  37. ↑ Template:Cite web
  38. ↑ Template:Cite web
  39. ↑ Template:Cite web
  40. ↑ Template:Cite web
  41. ↑ Template:Cite web
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 Template:Cite web Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "BOM4" defined multiple times with different content
  43. ↑ Template:Cite web
  44. ↑ Template:Cite web
  45. ↑ Template:Cite web
  46. ↑ Template:Cite web
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 Template:Cite web Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Mc2" defined multiple times with different content
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 Template:Cite web Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "CS2" defined multiple times with different content
  49. ↑ Template:Cite web
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
Advertisement

Fan Feed

More Nickelodeon Movies Fanon Wiki