It's been maybe 10 years since the first SpongeBob SquarePants Movie was out in theatres. It had some good laughs in there, but some of the tone of the film was a bit off. This new film, however, manages to completely outdo the first and deliver enough laughs to satisfy all the way through.
The story is told to us by a pirate named Burger Beard, reading to some talking seagulls from a library book he stole from a deserted island. It begins at the Krusty Krab where Plankton is once again trying to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula, attempting to swap it with a rude note in a bottle after an elaborate distraction involving a plane, tank, and a robot. While struggling over it with Spongebob, the formula mysteriously disappears. To make matters worse, the restaurant is completely out of Krabby Patties. (Why Mr. Krabs can't even remembers his own recipe is never brought up.) Bikini Bottom erupts into chaos and leather, and Spongebob has to team up with a reluctant Plankton to try and find the formula and bring it back.
Burger Beard tries to end the story there, writing THE END on the book, but the seagulls convince him to keep reading under protest. The page is torn out of the book and lands on Sandy's tree dome.
They build a time machine out of Plankton's computer-wife Karen and a photo booth, accidentally visit the future first, and then go back in time to right before the Krabby Patty formula disappeared. They seem to grab the bottle and return to the present, only to find it's the note Plankton was replacing the formula with. The Patty shortage and page on her tree dome drove Sandy mad, believing the town must make a sacrifice to appease the Sandwich Gods. Spongebob is about to become that sacrifice when he smells Krabby Patties. Everybody follows Spongebob's nose until the trail leads to the surface, at which point all ancillary characters turn back.
Under normal circumstances, our underwater friends would dry up once they reach the surface. Fortunately for them, Bubbles shows up, a dolphin Spongebob and Plankton met in the future, who grants them the ability to breathe on land. This is where the film switches to the publicized live-action footage mixed with 3D animation, (approximate one hour into the movie), and it's revealed that Burger Beard used the magic book to steal the formula so he could sell Krabby Patties from his pirate ship/food truck. He then uses the book to banish Spongebob and the others to Pelican Island.
Luckily, Sandy brought the page of the book with them. Spongebob grabs a feather off one of the surrounding birds, and a nervous Squidward provides the ink, allowing Spongebob to write on the page and transform them into superheroes. Finally, we're treated to all the scenes we get to see in the trailers, as our heroes fight off Burger Beard through the streets. Squidward shoots sound waves from his Clarinet, Spongebob can blow bubbles to great effect, Mr. Krabs is a robot, Patrick can control ice cream, and Sandy is a giant realistic squirrel (wisely left out of any commercials for the movie). The book is destroyed on Burger Beard's grill, but he still manages to subdue the heroes...until a hulking but still tiny-headed Plankton shows up and shakes him down. Plankton, having learned the value of teamwork, gives the formula back to Mr. Krabs and give the page to Spongebob, who writes everybody back home to Bikini Bottom (letting Squidward keep his rock-hard abs).
So the Krusty Krab is back in business, Plankton's back to trying to get the formula, and everything is as it was before. Burger Beard, now neck-deep in sand on what was likely the same desert island from before, relents and lets the seagulls finish singing the theme song...only to be interrupted by Bubbles for a rap battle...and then finish singing the theme song.
Even if you think the TV series isn't as good as it used to be, this movie has everything you loved about the show and more. It's great just how much was left out of the trailers, which concentrated on showing the live-action/3D bits. And while the cartoon characters and live-action setting are integrated wonderfully, it's the 2D animation that takes up a bulk of the story and really stands out. The backgrounds look amazing, and the motion of the characters is extremely fluid. I liked how the framing device with the pirate and the seagulls was integrated into the story instead of simply book-ending it, and it's really funny seeing Antonio Banderas as Burger Beard, once you realize it's him. And of course, the voice actors are top notch. Props to Tom Kenny, Jeff Bennett, and everyone else who was involved. Sponge Out Of Water should remind you just how fun this show is/was, and is likely to leave you smiling by the end.
