With all the big summer releases like Black Widow and Wonder Woman 1984, you might have forgotten that another beloved pop culture icon is coming back to theaters this year as well. I speak now of the great SpongeBob Squarepants, whose new film The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run hits theaters on May 22. And just like all those other big movies, Sponge On The Run is getting a new TV spot for the Super Bowl.
You can check out the new ad (with blink and ya miss ’em appearances by Keanu Reeves and Snoop Dogg!) down below:
So what can fans expect from SpongeBob’s return to to the big screen? For starters, this is the first SpongeBob SquarePants movie to be fully animated in a stylized CG format, instead of the traditional 2D animation. Although worry not, all the regular cast from the classic TV series will reprise their roles for this one. This isn’t the only SpongeBob-related project skipping the usual 2D animation style either. It was announced last year that a new original SpongeBob prequel series called Kamp Koral was in development by Nickelodeon and Paramount, and that it will center around the 10-year-old versions of SpongeBob and his friends during their summer at sleep-away camp. And just like this new movie, it’ll be a CG-rendered affair.
Paramount Pictures
Last year marked the 20th anniversary of SpongeBob, which debuted in May of 1999. The hope was that Sponge On The Run would be in theaters in time to celebrate the big two-o, but the movie was delayed several times, first from February 2019, then to the fall, and finally to May 2020. This is actually the third SpongeBob movie overall. The first was The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie back in 2004, followed by its sequel The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, which came out eleven years later. Luckily, fans didn’t have to wait that long for the third installment. You know you’re a true movie star when you’ve got yourself a trilogy. And if you get Hans Zimmer to provide the score.
Paramount Pictures
SpongeBob became an instant pop culture sensation when it first debuted in 1999, and has since had a run for twelve seasons and 244 episodes and counting. In addition to the movies, there has also been a Tony award winning Broadway musical, several different video games, and even some theme park rides. And of course, the true sign that you’re a pop culture icon is getting a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which he has.
Sponge On The Run features the voices of Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants and Gary the Snail, Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick Star, Rodger Bumpass as Squidward Tentacles, Clancy Brown as Eugene H. Krabs, Mr. Lawrence as Sheldon J. Plankton, Jill Talley as Karen Plankton, Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy Cheeks, Mary Jo Catlett as Mrs. Puff, and Lori Alan as Pearl Krabs. And in addition to the classic cast, Awkwafina and Reggie Watts join the previously mentioned Keanu Reeves and Snoop Dogg in undisclosed roles.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Sponge On The Run hits theaters on May 22, 2020.
Featured Image: Paramount Pictures