‘Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie’ Review – Familiar Characters But Lacking Imagination

Netflix’s latest addition to the Spongebob franchise is an interesting case of being stuck between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie dares to venture beyond the traditional setting and characters of the long-running show. But on the other hand, its overreliance on nostalgia and familiarity tends to overpower its creative elements. Unlike its heroic protagonists, the film is not brave enough to forge its path, holding itself back from being anything beyond a shallow spin-off of the iconic franchise.

The film’s plot places the series’ titular character Spongebob in a secondary role, giving the popular sidekick Sandy Cheeks the spotlight. When the pair’s hometown of Bikini Bottom is mysteriously snatched from the ocean in front of their very eyes, they must journey beyond the sea to Sandy’s home state of Texas to rescue their friends and the city that they love.

The most notable departure from the animated television series is its new visual style adopted in recent years. The blended 2D/3D style is a bit of a mixed bag, working equally well and not well depending on what is playing out on the screen. In some scenes, the art style serves the film’s exaggerated tone well, the bright colors and larger-than-life expressions mirror the vibrant setting and expressive cast of characters.

However, these brightly colored visuals struggle when the style is juxtaposed with live-action backdrops such as the scenes where the characters are on land. While this visual contrast drives home the fact that the characters have left Bikini Bottom, this new style feels much less suited for this purpose than its 2D counterpart. The characters feel disconnected from their surroundings as it becomes more obvious that they are layered on top of still images.

Perhaps even more jarring is the film’s attempts to blend live-action elements with animation. While this is not a new concept to the Spongebob franchise, it leaves an already disjointed film feeling even more uncanny. The series has previously been able to execute this concept with charm, but these awkward segments now feel like a “fish out of water” due to the live-action cast’s overacted performances in an attempt to match their animated counterparts.

The change in animation style also causes a disconnect between the viewer and these iterations of the iconic characters. They may sound the same and act the same, but they simply do not feel like the same characters from the show. While some characters transition well to this new art style such as Squidward there are just as many characters that do not translate well such as Mr. Krabs. There is fun in seeing these characters again but one can’t help but wonder if the film would’ve been better with more familiar faces.

The film faces the challenge that every spinoff of Spongebob faces, of distinguishing itself from the original series and justifying its existence. While Sandy’s movie attempts to flesh out her backstory with a cast of new characters, it tends to rely too heavily on fan service and established lore to do anything more than feel like another episode with a different style. Any time that it tries to innovate and flesh out new characters, it tends to cut back to the familiar supporting cast in the next scene.

Beyond taking place in the familiar world of SpongeBob Squarepants, the film carries over just enough of the series’ trademark physical comedy and visual gags to entertain the audience. Despite the long-standing tenure of the show, it does still seem that there are new jokes left uncovered. There are several clever little easter eggs and jokes that provide some originality in an otherwise standard adventure. Despite feeling generic, this humor proves there is still fun to be had with these characters.

The film does not attempt to bring anything new to the table, Despite a double-edged sword of a new visual style, the film remains a familiar adventure with a beloved cast of characters. There is not a lot here for long-time fans of the franchise beyond some hollow call-backs to iconic jokes such as “My-Leg!”, but it’s a serviceable adventure with a distinct visual style. Children will find entertainment value, but older members of the audience may not have the same experience.

Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie is currently available to stream on Netflix.