SpongeBob SquarePants and his pals from Bikini Bottom are heading back to the big screen in May 2020 for the premiere of The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run, and Paramount Pictures has released the official trailer. This week, the studio also unveiled the official poster for the movie, which revealed the film’s subtitle change from It’s a Wonderful Sponge to Sponge on the Run. The new trailer also gives us a great look at what we can expect from SpongeBob’s next big screen adventure, and you can watch it for yourself below.
As we can see in the trailer, Sponge on the Run will consist entirely of CGI animation, without the traditional 2D animation seen on the Nickelodeon TV series. This isn’t a new concept for the franchise, as the previous SpongeBob movies contained scenes of some CGI mixed with live-action footage. This time, the story follows SpongeBob and Patrick searching for Gary after the mollusk is snail-napped from Bikini Bottom. To find him, the pair travel to The Lost City of Atlantic City to bring the snail home. Along the way, SpongeBob and his pals also prove there’s nothing stronger than the power of friendship in the titular sponge’s hilarious new adventure.
This will be the third SpongeBob SquarePants movie to make it to theaters, as the Nickelodeon character first hit the big screen back in 2004 in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. The story follows SpongeBob and pals saving Mr. Krabs from the wrath of King Neptune, with Baywatch star David Hasselhoff making a very memorable cameo appearance. A sequel would follow in 2015 with the big screen follow-up The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, which brought in Antonio Banderas as the voice of Burger Beard. The movie was even more of a box office success than the original film, which probably explains why there has been much less wait time between the second and third installments of the movie series.
Tim Hill directs The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run using a screenplay co-written with Michael Kvamme, Jonathan Aibel, and Glenn Berger. The movie will also feature many of its franchise stars reprising their iconic roles, including Tom Kenny as SpongeBob, Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick, Rodger Bumpass as Squidward, Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy Cheeks, Clancy Brown as Mr. Krabs, and Mr. Lawrence as Plankton. Oddly enough, John Wick star and internet darling Keanu Reeves confirms his involvement with a surprise appearance in the trailer, appearing in a tumbleweed to speak to SpongeBob and Patrick. It’s a funny moment and makes the movie itself appear to be tons of fun.
Originally titled It’s a Wonderful Sponge, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run will be released in theaters on May 22, 2020. Getting used to the new animation for the duration of the movie may be initially jarring, but longtime fans of the franchise will still need to check this one out. The Sponge on the Run trailer shown above comes to us from Paramount Pictures on YouTube.
