The world ofSpongeBob SquarePantshas expanded beyond the main TV show, with its most notable branch being a movie series that, so far, has five movies betweenSpongeBob SquarePantsmovies and spinoffs. Created by Stephen Hillenburg,SpongeBob SquarePantspremiered on Nickelodeon in 1999 and became an immediate success.At the time of writing,SpongeBob SquarePantshas 15 seasons and shows no signs of stopping soon, and keeps breaking records as one of the longest-running animated TV shows for children.
The adventures of SpongeBob, his friends Patrick and Sandy, his eternally annoyed neighbor Squidward, and his greedy boss Mr. Krabs have kept generations of viewers entertained for 26 years, and the movies have taken them beyond Bikini Bottom. At the time of writing,there’s one moreSpongeBob SquarePantsmovie to be released in 2025, titledThe SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, and an untitled spinoff with no projected release date, but the five movies released so far have been quite entertaining, though at different levels.
Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie
Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie Was Released In 2024
The first of theSpongeBob SquarePantsspinoff movies isSaving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie. It follows Sandy (voiced by Carolyn Lawrence) and SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) as they venture to Texas, Sandy’s home state, to save Bikini Bottom when it’s taken by the Bureau of Official Texas Science (B.O.O.T.S). Because of this,Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Moviecombines CGI animation with live-action.
Sadly, Sandy isn’t a character strong enough to be the focus of a movie.
While the animation ofSaving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movieis definitely one of its biggest appeals, as is the exploration ofSandy’s backstory and family, there’s a lot of awkwardness in this movie. The human characters interacting with the animated ones feel off (unlike in other movies), the plot is messy, and, sadly, Sandy isn’t a character strong enough to be the focus of a movie, even though she had SpongeBob by her side.
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run Was Released In 2020
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Runis the third movie intheSpongeBob SquarePantsmovie series. It follows SpongeBob and Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke), who go on a journey to rescue SpongeBob’s pet and friend, Gary, after he’s kidnapped by Plankton (Mr. Lawrence).The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Rungained a lot of attention for the cameo appearance of Keanu Reeves as Sage, a tumbleweed spirit.
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Runhas the silliness and jokes that have made the show so beloved, and Patrick and SpongeBob’s adventures in Atlantic City are quite entertaining (and visually fun), butthe story ultimately didn’t seize its adventurous potential and felt messy. Still,The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Runachieves its goal of being entertaining.
Plankton: The Movie
Plankton: The Movie Was Released In 2025
Plankton: The Movieis the second spinoff in theSpongeBob SquarePantsmovie series, and as the title says, its focus is on Plankton. When his computer wife Karen goes rogue as they design their newplan to steal the Krabby Patty’s secret formula, Plankton teams up with SpongeBob to stop Karen, but he learns some much-needed valuable lessons in the process.
Plankton: The Movieis surprisingly deep in the topics it addresses, mostly those between Plankton and Karen.
Unlike mostSpongeBob SquarePantsmovies,Plankton: The Moviedoesn’t rely on celebrity cameos and guest stars, instead fully focusing on its characters, their past, and their dynamic with other well-known characters from the show.Plankton: The Movieis surprisingly deep in the topics it addresses, mostly those between Plankton and Karen, and Karen and her friends, making it one of the bestSpongeBob SquarePantsmovies in recent years.
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Was Released In 2004
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movieis the first movie in the series, and as such, it’s the one closest to the style and vibe of the TV show. The story revolves around one of Plankton’s plans to stealthe Krabby Patty’s secret formula, but he also steals King Neptune’s crown and frames Mr. Krabs. It’s up to SpongeBob and Patrick to get the crown from Shell City, clear Mr. Krabs’ name, and save the underwater world from Plankton’s takeover.
The SpongeBob SquarePants Moviewas made in the show’s traditional animation style, which helps itfeel like an extension of the show rather than a branch of it. The story is also one the audience is familiar with, but with enough additions (like the stealing of Neptune’s crown) to make it feel new. Surely, it doesn’t add much to the world ofSpongeBob SquarePants, but it has a very catchy musical number.
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water Was Released In 2015
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Wateris the second movie in theSpongeBob SquarePantsmovie series. It follows Burger Beard (Antonio Banderas), a pirate who does what Plankton could never do: steal the Krabby Patty’s secret formula thanks to a magical book. SpongeBob and his friends team up to travel to the surface, confront Burger Beard, and get the formula back.
The essence ofSpongeBob SquarePantsis harmless silliness, andThe SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Waterhad that very clear.
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Waterhas been praised for its pace, jokes, animation, sense of humor, and story (which, although it feels surreal, works because of how funny it is), though the change from CGI to live-action ended up being divisive. The essence ofSpongeBob SquarePantsis harmless silliness, andThe SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Waterhad that very clear, appealing to both children and adults.
