Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 13, 2021

Writer/Director Tim Hill (Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties, Alvin and the Chipmunks) brings a third installment into the zany, colorful, and underwater world of SpongeBob SquarePants in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, a feature film following up with the same core characters from the first two pictures, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (which Hill co-wrote) and Sponge Out of Water. This film is sure to please fans; all of the favorites return, some new characters play a big role, and some live action stars make flesh-and-blood appearances alongside the animated characters. It's not a particularly important film but it's a solid diversion that series fans should love.

When the ruler of Atlantic City -- a vain, self-absorbed king named Poseidon (voiced by Matt Berry) -- discovers a wrinkle on his otherwise pristine face, he declares it time to fetch another undersea snail which secretes the goop that keeps him looking his best. When the villainous Plankton (voiced by Mr. Lawrence), whose latest plot against SpongeBob (voiced by Tom Kenny) was foiled, learns of this, he kidnaps SpongeBob's longtime pet snail Gary (also voiced by Kenny) to present to Poseidon. Plankton hopes that SpongeBob will leave Bikini Bottom in pursuit and leave him free to carry out his mischief and mayhem. SpongeBob does indeed take the bait and undertakes a rescue operation, accompanied by his best friend Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke).

Any SpongeBob property is going to live and die on faithfulness to the tone and accuracy in the animation and voice work, and none of these areas disappoint. Granted the story is little more than window dressing to set the stage for a number of hijinks that follow best friends SpongeBob and Patrick on a zany and super colorful adventure, but that's perfectly fine. Most audiences are coming for that interplay, anyway, for the characters' personalities to shine through, not to care about a villain who needs a secret sauce to keep himself wrinkle free. That's all well and good, but the highlights here are absolutely the colors, the sounds, the witty banter, and even the rather curious intermixing of live action and animation that sees Keanu Reeves play the part of some kind of mystic guru inside a tumbleweed and Snoop Dogg more or less playing himself. There's even a Danny Trejo appearance to play a character called "El Diablo;" if ever there was a character written for Trejo (and honestly aren't most of his roles written for him?) it's this one.

The film is in top form as far as its tech specs are concerned. The picture is rich and lively and boasts razor sharp and supremely crisp animated locations and characters, the latter of which blend seamlessly into a handful of real world locations. The film is abundantly colorful, particularly once the action shifts to Atlantic City, which has all of the glitz and glamour and worldly allure one would expect to find in an underwater gambling paradise. The voice work is as good as ever. The characters are teeming with personality and the actors deliver lines with boundless enthusiasm and charm.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Paramount brings The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run to Blu-ray with a reference-class 1080p transfer. The picture is beautiful. The colors are vivid, the details are tack sharp, and the entire experience is visually sublime. Colors leap off the screen with unflappable tonal accuracy and screen commanding dominance. There's nothing but endlessly bold, exhilarating examples of yellow, red, green, blue, every color one can imagine within the SpongeBob universe. Animated details are tack-sharp and clarity never falters. The live action segments are beautiful, particularly looking at the earthy terrain, the woods inside the saloon, and the zombie makeup on various human actors. Black levels are terrific, too, and the picture reveals no source anomalies of encode failures. Fans are going to be delighted with this one.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Listeners will feel fully submerged into Bikini Bottom courtesy of a satisfying DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The presentation springs alive with plenty of essential details presented with the utmost clarity and positional excellence. Surrounds are regularly engaged, sometimes prominently, sometimes more subtly and discretely, but always in balance and to the track's benefit. Musical stretch is excellent and clarity is superb. High yield definition extends to various sound effects, too. Dialogue is clear and precise with a firm front-center location output.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run includes several bonuses, outlined and reviewed below. A DVD copy of the film is included with purchase. A digital copy is not. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

• I'm Urchin You to Leave Mini-Movie (1080p, Dolby Digital 5.1, 4:50): Camping fun at Kamp Koral; SpongeBob and Patrick befriend an Urchin and Squidward is not happy about it.
• Campfire Songs (1080p): Four videos.
  
  
  • Music Video (3:02): Agua by Tainy & J. Balvin.
  • Lyric Video (1:24): How We Do by Snoop Dogg and Monsta X.
  • Lyric Video (3:27): Krabby Step by Tyga, Swae Lee & Lil Mosey.
  • Lyric Video (2:49): Agua by Tainy & J. Balvin.
• Campfire Stories (1080p): Two deleted storyboards: essentially deleted scenes in very early, simple, hand drawn animation.
  
  
  • Deleted Storyboard (3:09): Wake Up.
  • Deleted Storyboard (1:13): Sumo Ninja.
• Camp Coral Buddies (1080p)
  
  
  • The Ballad of SpongeBob and Patrick! (5:01): Exploring these main characters: their friendship, voice work, and more.
  • I ❤ Camp Coral by SpongeBob SquarePants (2:28): Flipping through a scrapbook exploring SpongeBob's time at camp.
• Camp Arts and Crafts (1080p): Artistically minded supplements.
  
  
  • Drawing the Cutest Camper Ever (9:19): Learn to draw young SpongeBob.
  • Drawing the Cutest Snail Ever (6:04): Learn to draw young Gary.
  • The Amazing Stages of Animation (2:12): Exploring the animation process, from storyboards to finished product.
• But Wait...There's S'Mores! (1080p, 2:06): A look at the new Patty Mobile in The Wonders of Patty Mobile.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run is a charming little time waster that just might satisfy general audiences looking for a colorful escape into another world. Hardcore franchise fans will enjoy the look and tone and banter but might be turned off by a generically straightforward plot. Paramount's Blu-ray delivers near perfect video and audio presentations while also offering a healthy allotment of bonus content. Worth a look.