Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie 2024 Movie Review
It’s SpongeBob’s next big adventure! And the more you watch it, the worse it gets. Before going into this, I heard people were declaring it to be the worst SpongeBob movie since “Sponge on the Run”. And that got me thinking that it was not going to be a good SpongeBob movie, but at least it could be an alright kids movie. As long as the animation was nice and the jokes worked half the time, I could sit through this without losing my sanity.
But sweet Neptune, was this film bad. And not just the unfunny type of bad, but it was the unprofessional filmmaking type of bad. The story centers around Sandy and SpongeBob going on a quest to save Bikini Bottom from Sandy’s corrupted science organization back in Texas. Slapstick occurs, we get to learn the origins of Sandy’s family, and we get some extra insight into her character.
On paper, this sounds like a pretty fun set up. I’d even go as slivers of this film would fit in a much better story. The designs of her family aren’t too bad. And I really like the design of the circus themed vehicle they travel in. They even show the creative ways on how tiny animals can control a human vehicle. It feels straight out of a children’s book. I also believe that Sandy would debate with herself whether or not it was best to leave Texas without telling her folks.
I even like the twist of the main villain using her collected data on Bikini Bottom’s residents to capitalize on the rare talking fish. Within the trash pile, there are snippets of creativity that could have been used to make a solid family film. But once the interesting moments slip away, the film strangely becomes an uncomfortable fright fest. With terrible live action scenes erasing the biggest smiles.
The acting from the human characters is awful, some of the worst I’ve seen in Nickelodeon films. Not only are they giving little to no emotion, but the writing wouldn’t even make toddlers laugh. It’s weird because I’ve seen Ilia Isorelýs Paulino in One Piece Live Action and she acted fine there. Considering that a director that specialized in dramas was selected for the job. I’m blaming the producer on this one.
Though I do have another theory that this film was rushed by studio interference. Not just because there a ton of plot holes where foreshadowed jokes never receive a payoff, such as Plankton’s failed clone machine. But the terrible effects in the live action shots where Sue Nahmee has her head attached to a young child, a robot, and the mouth of a fish look horrifying. I think they were designed to look goofy, but the way she moves her head looks legitimately uncanny. Your kids will have nightmares for all the wrong reasons. I swear aside from “Over the Hedge” and “Rio”, Wanda Sykes can never seem to find good films to act in.
Overall, I recommend you skip this film. The bad animation in the live action scenes will make even the most positive SpongeBob fans uncomfortable. You’re better off watching the original movie or “Sponge Out of Water”.
