No, it is not a joke, but one of the follies that you will see in Spongebob: Friends on the run, the new feature film about the sea sponge created by Stephen Hillenburg that arrives on Netflix on 5th November.
Someone kidnapped Gary!
It seems impossible that anyone could harm the little one Gary, the cat / sea snail that Spongebob adores, but it's the premise that sets the movie in motion. King Neptune (voiced by the very good Matt Berry di What We do in the Shadow) has wrinkles and has now finished his personal supply of snail slime, as well as having exterminated the marine population of the animal. He then has an edict prepared with a prize for those who will bring him a new snail with which to heal his skin hit by the most ferocious killer of all, time.
After yet another failure of one of his plans because of the sponge, Plankton he understands that Spongebob has always been his greatest enemy and not Mr Krab. She decides to knock him out by kidnapping Gary and handing him over to King Neptune. The sponge will then set off in search of Gary on a journey that will lead him to find him “The Lost City of the Atlantic City”, a place where everything passes from gambling.
Naturally on his path he will have to contend with a host of antics in full Spongebob style: pirates, zombies, fascinating sages and many other follies that go to build. a funny script, but one that loses a little bit of the ending. The conclusion is in fact very feel-good, perhaps too much and it is as if the film suddenly remembered that it was a product for children.
Madness is the basis of everything
Beyond the plot, however, which despite the final uncertainties does its job without overdoing it, the beauty of Spongebob is represented by the incredible amount of nonsense he manages to insert in each scene. As per the tradition of the Spongebob films, which have already seen Antonio Banderas or David Hasselhoff acting with the sea sponge, even in Friends on the run there will be celebrities. First of all, in meat and broom, Keanu Reeves (by now it's really everywhere) who will play a sage who lives by rolling inside a dry hay ball. He will guide Spongebob towards truth, courage and ... a saloon of bloodthirsty zombie pirates and dancers ready to party him while Snoop Dog sing a deadly rap.
If all this is still not enough to make you immediately run to list the new Spongebob film, know that there will also be room for a lethal and bloodthirsty Danny Trejo (which then when ever it was not lethal and bloodthirsty!).
So on the entertainment front, Spongebob: Friends on the run is a certainty who won't struggle to get a laugh and hit you with a ton of nonsense just when you least expect it.
Computer graphics and Weezer
Bikini Bottom and its inhabitants have a unique design, difficult to transpose from the classic cartoon. The style of computer graphics used in the film, however, succeeds in giving the viewer a lively and richly detailed backdrop. Seeing Patrick and Spongebob moving around Atlantic City or following Sandy's robot as it whizzes through the seaweed is a real spectacle, so much so that the animation doesn't even look artificial, as often happens with digital graphics, but genuine. Own as if it were a fluid cartoon made in stop motion.
To accompany the visual madness there is naturally also the sound one which in addition to the aforementioned Snoop Doog also includes the Weezer, who created the main theme of the film (it will stay in your ears believe me) and who better than Mötley Crüe could he set music for Gary's car ride to safety?
Spongebob: Friends on the Run is a jumble of different elements that are as fun as they are beautiful to look at. Suitable for both sea sponge enthusiasts and those looking for a movie to spend two hours having fun without paying too much attention to the plot. Recommended for a family evening or to have a laugh with friends.
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