Less than a year after the release of “Saving Bikini
Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie,” the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise releases
another spin-off with “Plankton: The Movie.” Brian Orndorf said in his review, “It’s
a sudden SpongeBobbing that’s a little disorienting, as someone, somewhere is
determined to increase media ubiquity of the franchise and its cast of
characters. “Sandy Cheeks” wasn’t entirely successful, but it remained an
entertaining cartoon event, handling the presentation of a supporting player as
she’s granted a starring role. “Plankton: The Movie” does away with heroism,
electing to extend screen time with a villain, albeit one who never seems to
have much success when disrupting daily life in Bikini Bottom. Thankfully,
Plankton is an amusing irritant to follow, and while the production still
maintains trouble with final acts, the offering is spirited and humorous,
gifting co-writer/star Mr. Lawrence an opportunity to shine.”
Plankton (Mr. Lawrence) stays determined to want
control of Bikini Bottom, wanting to steal the secret Krabby Patty formula from
Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown). Launching “Operation Success,” Plankton prepares for
victory, but his “computer wife” Karen, voiced by Jill Talley, is losing
interest in this fight, wanting to bring Plankton back to normal with her idea
of a Chum Bucket renovation. When Plankton refuses to give up his desire, Karen
goes haywire, launching a giant magnet that pulls Bikini Bottom up from the depths,
helping to create a giant metal machine that’s run by this once nice computer,
who’s now split into three evil personalities. Now afraid, Plankton hurries to
stop this destruction, only to end up with SpongeBob, voiced by Tom Kenny, who
uses his therapy methods to find where the villain started this behavior and
look back at when Karen was invented. Orndorf said, “Plankton returns to his
past to combat his gigantic spouse, attempting to fight fire with fire while
Bikini Bottom residents hope to introduce the scheming little cyclops copepod
to a concept alien to his existence: empathy.”
“Plankton: The Movie” doesn’t waste time getting to
the villain, catching up with the puny green man and his pet, Spot, as they
finish up “Operation Success,” which is meant to finally bring Mr. Krabs’s
secret recipe in Plankton’s hands, letting him begin his mission to take over
the world. We’ve seen this before, and the screenplay (by Mr. Lawrence, Kaz,
and Chris Viscardi) acknowledges this tiring situation, especially with Karen,
who’s programmed to support Plankton, but is prepared to show him a happier
life in a renovated Chum Bucket, bringing better food and a warmer atmosphere
to paying customers. “Plankton: The Movie” gets some laughs out of the
protagonist’s inability to think of the possibility of business, and it
introduces the first of many songs (including I’m a Jerky Jerk),
turning the film into a musical with the help from songwriters Bret McKenzie,
Bob and Mark Mothersbaugh, and Linda Perry.
Orndorf said, “Karen and Plankton eventually split
over their disagreement, but it’s no everyday marital spat, as the computer
turns evil, creating different personalities while destroying Bikini Bottom
with a giant magnet (which allows for plenty of sight gags). A journey of
realization is created for Plankton, who needs SpongeBob’s help to access the
past, transforming the yellow lunatic into a Freud-like analyst capable of
hypnotizing his patient, and “Plankton: The Movie” returns to Karen’s origin,
initially manufactured from a calculator, a roller skate, and a potato.
Director Dave Needham has fun playing with different animation styles to
explore these moments of mental time travel, and the writing tries to develop
the relationship between Plankton and Karen. The past puts the eponymous
character on an odyssey to save the future, taking the creatures on a side trip
to Bikini State University, returning Plankton to his happiest days.”
Orndorf continued, ““Plankton: The Movie” is most
entertaining during these examinations of personal history, and development of
the main madman’s world is welcome, extending to a trip into his “basement of
failures.”” Supporting characters eventually join the journey, including Sandy
and her “gal pals,” who make the mistake of introducing SpongeBob to coffee.
Orndorf ended his review by saying, “Community sequences shine here, but there
seems to be some type of studio order that all of these features need to climax
with chaos, and “Plankton: The Movie” is no different, mixing the promising
storytelling journey of empathy with plenty of large-scale cartoon violence.
It’s more of the same, but Needham gets something out of this spin-off, and Mr.
Lawrence’s gloriously unhinged voice work as Plankton is always good for
laughs, now provided with extra dramatic substance to help add fresh details to
the tyrannical character.”
I thought this was an entertaining, enjoyable film to
watch. If you have been a fan of this franchise and seen all of the past films,
than don’t miss the chance to see this one on Netflix. Check it out and have an
enjoyable time laughing at this film.
Thank you for joining in on this review tonight. Stay
tuned this Friday for the conclusion of “Nick Nolte Month.”
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