Summary
Paramount Pictures’TheSpongeBobMovie: The Search For SquarePantshas been compared to theSpider-Versefilms, a comparison which is wildly sacrilegious to say the least, at least initially. To further inflate the puffery, the newSpongeBobmovie has also been said to invoke one of Netflix’s most celebrated original films,The Mitchells Vs. The Machines. Now, if something smells fishy, which it does, it’s a Bikini Bottom being hung out to dry against what is arguably the most impactful animated work of this generation. The madman responsible for these lofty comparisons is the upcoming film’s director, Derek Drymon, who has been heavily involved withSpongeBobsince the character’s creation.
According to HollywoodHandleon X, Drymon seeks to recapture the spirit of the first season with the new movie. If that’s indeed the case, thenSpongeBobcould see a renaissance worthy of Gen Z and millennials' return. Perhaps we’ll get a film that relishes in adult-leaning heart and humor with animation that pushes boundaries. Is that the film we’ll actually get? Only time will tell. If it does happen, it will be because long-time writer/animator Drymon capably poured his soul into a character he truly loves and respects.
Drymon Seeks To Serve UpSpider-Verse-Quality SpongeBob Fare
The order may sound as farfetched as a hydro-dynamic spatula with port and starboard attachments (and turbo drive), but maybe, just maybe,SpongeBobcan show he’s ready withThe Search For SquarePants,and prove once again he’s fry cook material. Derek Drymon’s involvement is of paramount importance here, as he is one ofSpongeBob’s original visionaries and played an integral role in crafting the franchise’s excellent first season, which still stands the test of time with timeless humor and some welcome artistic turns. To boot, he’ll have the help of celebrity names such as George Lopez, Regina Hall, and even Ice Spice to aid(?) the film’s success.
With that, let’s get one thing straight right off the bat - SpongeBob will never be Spider-Man, as his sandy nether region-based origins are pineapples toThe Spider-Verse’s oranges by comparison. But, if you look a little closer, SpongeBob has a lot more in common with The Spider-Verse films than it might first seem…
The Spider-Verse’s Themes Weirdly Echo SpongeBob’s
SpongeBobonce ripped the seams of his pants over and over again in an episode that first saw him realize his accident got a laugh at the beach. He then delivered the same gag until the humor wore off - reducing the bit to SpongeBob merely exposing his budgie smugglers at a public beach to the chagrin of everyone attending.
SpongeBob then asks himself if he’s the biggest loser at the beach, which he for sure was, but then he pours his sponge-y heart out in a bop of a Beach Boys croon, which leads to apologies and newly adopted appreciations for SpongeBob by beach-goers. Season 1, Episode 2 ‘Ripped Pants’ demonstrated a strong show of good faith by Drymon, who served as creative director on the installment. Drymon and company pledged comedic self-awareness in crafting a storyline built upon the idea that jokes quickly get old when rehashed.
‘Ripped Pants’ also successfully humanized a sea sponge, which had to be difficult to do. In the series ‘prove it’ episode, following the classic ‘Help Wanted’ pilot, which Drymon co-wrote,SpongeBobwas able to cement itsKrabby Patty-filled program’s pathos. That is, that expressing yourself for the sake of yourself, and not others, is truly how to make friends. This concept is not at all foreign toThe Spider-Verse,as its themes are centered around diversity’s beauty as well as standing up for one’s own individuality in the faces of nay-sayers.
SpongeBob and Miles Morales Share Similar Aims
In TheSpider-Versefilms, Miles Morales takes beatings worthy of a man twice his age, but he still gets back up. His fortitude and toughness when faced with adversity is, in a way, the same stuff SpongeBob summoned in order to bounce back from his own epic crash and burn. Again, pineapples to oranges, but both are pretty sweet in their punk rock (or Beach Boy) approaches to fighting for individuality against people who seek to shun it. In theSpider-Verse,those people are parents, police, andShakespearean family villains. In ‘Ripped Pants’, they were literally everyone around SpongeBob.
When Miles Morales was introduced to the well-versed, multidimensional Spider-People, he became Spider-SpongeBob, alone and questioning whether he was good enough to hang with everyone else. They both proved to the world that their differences were what made them attractive and worthy and adequate. IfSpongeBobresurrects that heart, along with Drymon’s early knack for comedy,SpongeBob SquarePantscould possibly resonate, in its own comedic way, somewhat similarly toThe Spider-Versefilms.
SpongeBob Has Already Proven Itself Among Animation’s Greats
Derek Drymon wrote an Emmy-nominated episode of Nickelodeon’sCat Dog, and also earned two Emmy nominations forSpongeBobin 2003 and 2004.Adventure Timefans would also be pleased to know he was nominated for executive producing the show in 2010.SpongeBob’s first season, despite the series' recent fall from grace with older fans, is still a certified classic.
SpongeBobboasts some of the most quotable and boundary-pushing comedy, musical numbers, and thought experiments ever found in children’s television outside ofAdventure Timeitself (see: Spongebob Season 1, Episode 14 ‘SB-129’ for an Astral Plane-y head trip in Bikini Bottom). No,Spongebobwill never swing to the heights of theSpider-Versefilms, but it can exist in their era and stand on its own merit by being its unique and beloved self.
