The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie

***The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie*** is the first Paramount Animation film it is based on Nickelodeon's hit TV show *SpongeBob SquarePants*. In this movie, SpongeBob and Patrick set off for Shell City to retrieve King Neptune's crown in order to stop Plankton from taking over Bikini Bottom.

The movie was released in theaters in the United States on November 19, 2004, by Paramount Pictures. The movie was first aired on TV on November 10, 2006, during the Best Day Ever marathon. It was distributed in Switzerland, Spain, and the Netherlands by Universal Pictures. On March 29, 2011, Paramount released the movie on Blu-ray. On December 30, 2014, Paramount re-released the movie on Blu-ray.

## Plotedit | edit source

The movie opens up by showing a group of pirates getting tickets to watch *The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie* from a treasure chest. The pirates then sing the "SpongeBob SquarePants Theme Song," then they enter a movie theater, raid it, and sit down to watch the movie.

The movie then shifts to an emergency at the Krusty Krab, complete with police helicopters, large crowds, and news reporters. Suddenly, SpongeBob SquarePants, "the manager," arrives in a sports car. Mr. Krabs says that it started with a simple order, a Krabby Patty with cheese. But when the customer took a bite, no cheese was present on the burger. SpongeBob enters the Krusty Krab and meets a fish named Phil. SpongeBob then opens his suitcase, takes out a pair of tweezers, and dramatically puts cheese on the Krabby Patty. The day is saved and the crowd starts cheering for SpongeBob. Their cheers soon degenerate to the sound of SpongeBob's alarm clock, and he wakes up, revealing the opening scene to be a dream.

SpongeBob is extremely excited, as today is the grand opening of the "Krusty Krab 2," and he is confident he will be chosen as the new manager and prepares himself for the day. Patrick Star's rock lifts up, and Patrick congratulates SpongeBob, saying that to celebrate, they are going to go to Goofy Goober's Ice Cream Party Boat tonight. SpongeBob and Patrick sing the "Goofy Goober Song," and afterwards, SpongeBob goes off to the Krusty Krab.

Plankton envies Mr. Krabs and states he tried every plan in his cabinet from "A to Y." There are actually 26 letters of the alphabet, and Plankton does not notice it at first, but Karen, his computer wife, tells him. Plankton finds "Plan Z" in the back of the drawer. He thinks it is his best plan yet. He goes outside to announce his revenge, only to be stepped on by SpongeBob, who pulls Plankton off his shoe and asks him if he is going to the grand opening ceremony. Plankton replies that he is instead planning on ruling the world.

Meanwhile, Mr. Krabs is preparing the grand opening ceremony of the Krusty Krab 2, which is an exact replica of the original Krusty Krab and is located directly next door to it. SpongeBob rushes up to the stage to accept his promotion and highly anticipates that he will win the promotion, but Mr. Krabs announces that Squidward is the new manager instead, much to SpongeBob's shock. Mr. Krabs tells a heartbroken SpongeBob that he is too childish to handle the task, and SpongeBob sulks away in depression.

Later, Plankton flies towards King Neptune's castle, as part of "Plan Z." Inside, King Neptune is attempting to punish his royal crown polisher for touching his crown, but his more intelligent daughter, Princess Mindy, stops him and tries to tell him to show a little love and compassion to his subjects instead of making them suffer these harsh punishments. The hot-tempered and tyrannical king tries to explain to his daughter by showing her the crown and its importance. During his speech, Plankton arrives on the scene and steals his crown. Neptune, who is "bald," is horrified to discover that his crown is missing. As he screams in horror upon his royal crown being stolen, Plankton flies off to Shell City, having stolen the crown thanks to Plan Z.

Meanwhile, SpongeBob is at Goofy Goober's Ice Cream Party Boat brooding over his loss. Patrick arrives, thinking SpongeBob is the manager. He is then told the truth about SpongeBob about being a kid, and SpongeBob starts to leave after that, but then Patrick orders a Triple Gooberberry Sunrise, and SpongeBob comes back in interest, lightening up the mood a bit. They begin to eat dozens of sundaes, burying the waiter in ice cream, continuously demanding the waiter's attention. The two soon become "drunk" from all the ice cream and pass out in the restaurant overnight, experiencing hangover-like symptoms the following morning.

Meanwhile, Neptune arrives at the Krusty Krab after receiving evidence planted by Plankton of Mr. Krabs stealing his crown, which is a note. Neptune threatens Krabs by telling him to relinquish the crown to him at once by unleashing his magic trident at him, vowing to execute the crustacean. Krabs, however, denies stealing the crown, but then a message plays on the phone of a man thanking Mr. Krabs for giving him the crown and saying that he sold it to Shell City (This call is actually from Plankton). Upon hearing his crown is in the forbidden Shell City, Neptune gets frustrated and plans to burn Mr. Krabs. However, before doing that, Neptune asks if anyone has anything to say to defend Mr. Krabs. A "drunken" SpongeBob arrives and bad-mouths his boss for not promoting him to manager, attempting to proclaim a level of maturity suited for the position.

After SpongeBob's rant finishes, Neptune burns Mr. Krabs by shooting fire at him, causing him to bounce and run around the restaurant on fire, before plunging into a barrel filled with water. Upon realizing the severity of the situation, SpongeBob returns to his normal self and stops the vengeful merman from burning Krabs by telling him it is rather harsh to kill someone over a crown. Neptune tells SpongeBob that his crown is a symbol of his authority and shows him his bald spot, which is extremely shiny to the point where it horrifies everyone upon seeing it, before Neptune puts the bag back on his head. SpongeBob tells Neptune to let him go to Shell City and get the crown back. Neptune laughs at this offer, then he disagrees with SpongeBob because he is just a kid, and he tells him no one has dared to go to Shell City before. Thus, Neptune proceeds to fry Mr. Krabs, but SpongeBob gets in the way and defends his boss so as to prevent the execution. Neptune then decides to fry them both instead, but Mindy arrives and convinces her father to give SpongeBob a chance to prove Mr. Krabs' innocence.

Neptune threateningly orders SpongeBob to be back with his crown in six days. SpongeBob and Patrick agree to travel to the dreaded Shell City and return with the crown by then. Neptune freezes Mr. Krabs for the time being until the crown is returned, and threatens to kill him if SpongeBob does not return. Mindy, whom Patrick develops a crush on, gives SpongeBob and Patrick a magical bag of winds to return home with and warns the pair about the trip.

With six days to retrieve the crown, SpongeBob and Patrick take the "Patty Wagon," a car shaped like a Krabby Patty. They soon reach a gas station located on the county line, where the hillbilly owners laugh at them, finding the duo and their vehicle stupid. They tell SpongeBob and Patrick that they would not last for ten seconds over the county line. When SpongeBob and Patrick cross the line, a thug immediately steals their car. SpongeBob and Patrick then realize that they lasted for twelve seconds, and begin laughing at the hillbillies, who are dumbfounded by their idiocy, as they continue on foot.

Later, they find their car parked at the Thug Tug, a bar for tough, muscular fish. SpongeBob has Patrick distract the thugs so he can get the key. Unfortunately, Patrick just announces that he has to use the bathroom, making SpongeBob unsuccessful. SpongeBob heads for the bathroom and criticizes Patrick for this, as the latter realizes his mistake. SpongeBob then washes his hands, and when he uses the soap dispenser, it produces bubbles. SpongeBob and Patrick begin having a "bubble party," but one bubble floats over to the leader of the Thug Tug, who reminds the other bar patrons of the policy that all "Bubble Blowing Babies" will be severely beaten. The leader goes on a "Bubble Blowing Baby Hunt" by turning on the Goofy Goober theme song, where the first person to start singing is determined to be the culprit. SpongeBob and Patrick struggle not to start singing, then the owner notices their strain and starts singing it to SpongeBob and Patrick in a mocking tone to intimidate them. Just as they are about to sing, they are saved when two Siamese twins burst out in song. The other thugs begin beating them, allowing SpongeBob and Patrick to retrieve the key amid the confusion and depart.

By the following day, Plankton, with Mr. Krabs incapacitated, successfully obtains the Krabby Patty secret formula and begins serving Krabby Patties at the Chum Bucket. Plankton starts selling Krabby Patties at the Chum Bucket, along with free bucket helmets. He has also learned that SpongeBob and Patrick are trying to get the crown back and hires a professional mercenary named Dennis to ensure that they do not reach Shell City and get killed on their journey. The next day, Squidward sees that everyone is wearing bucket helmets. As he goes to confront him, Squidward figures out that Plankton was the one who stole King Neptune's crown to get the Krabby Patty formula. He decides to report him to King Neptune, but before he leaves the Chum Bucket, Plankton activates a mind-control device, revealing that the bucket helmets are actually mind-controlling helmets. Squidward tries to escape, but the enslaved citizens corner and capture him, taking down the last opposition to Plankton in Bikini Bottom as he transforms the city into "Planktopolis."

SpongeBob and Patrick are traveling through a field of skulls, laughing over their victory at the Thug Tug. They see an ice cream stand, but when SpongeBob goes to order, the old woman running the stand is revealed as the tongue of a monstrous frogfish using the ice cream stand as bait. The Frogfish chases the scared fleeing duo, eventually driving off a cliff and getting out of the car just in time. The frogfish is lured off the edge and subsequently eaten by an even larger beast, which is a gigantic sea serpent that appears from the trench.

Unable to pass through a monster-filled trench, SpongeBob decides to give up and accepts the fact that he and Patrick are just kids. However, Mindy, who was exiled from Bikini Bottom by Plankton, arrives and shows them what has happened to Bikini Bottom while they were gone and gives them fake mustaches in the form of seaweed, convincing them that they are now men. SpongeBob and Patrick pass through the trench without fear while singing "Now That We're Men," but meet up with Dennis on the other side. He rips off their fake mustaches and explains to them that they are not really men, and prepares to kill them by crushing them under his spiky boot. However, before he can do so, a even bigger boot crushes Dennis, belonging to a monstrous scuba diver known as the "Cyclops," who abducts SpongeBob and Patrick to the surface.

SpongeBob and Patrick wake up in a goldfish bowl filled with fresh water and sedimentary pebbles. They see the Cyclops making "knick-knacks" from "dead" sea creatures, much to their horror, and are soon taken out of the bowl and put on a table under a heat lamp, and start to dry up. Soon, SpongeBob laments that they have failed and that Bikini Bottom will remain under Plankton's mind control, Mr. Krabs will be executed, and they too will die. Patrick points out a sign reading "Shell City: Marine Gifts and Sundries." SpongeBob realizes that they are in Shell City, which is, in fact, a gift shop. They see the crown, and SpongeBob then realizes that they did at least make it to Shell City. They both shed a tear of joy and begin singing the Goofy Goober song, just as they shrivel up: their faces become smaller, Patrick's body shape gets round bevel edges, and SpongeBob's arms and legs roll up into his sleeves. As they sing the last verse of the song, their faces vanish from their bodies as they become the real-life equivalents of their species, indicating that they have both died. Back in the movie theater, all the pirates mourn the loss of SpongeBob and Patrick, but a talking parrot points out that the movie is not over yet, and they continue watching it.

The tear of the Goofy Goobers slides down a wire into the power outlet, causing it to short-circuit and let out smoke, which rises up and activates the fire suppression sprinkler system, causing all the sea creatures to reanimate and the table with the lamp to cool off. As the water drips from the system, SpongeBob and Patrick first get saturated colors, and then they become animated again upon revival, which makes the whole audience in the theater cheer. As the movie continues with the sea creatures beating up the Cyclops in retaliation for killing them, SpongeBob and Patrick grab the crown and carry it out to the beach. There, SpongeBob reads the manual of the magical bag of winds, and accidentally releases it, leaving them stranded on the beach. However, David Hasselhoff arrives and carries them across the ocean on his back.

On the way back home, SpongeBob and Patrick see the big boot belonging to the same diver that kidnapped them and who squished Dennis, rise up the sea, and an angry Dennis emerges from below it, intent on finishing the job Plankton gave him, and goes after Patrick and SpongeBob with his dagger in hand. He corners SpongeBob, who attempts to reason with Dennis by bribing him with five Goober dollars; Dennis is uninterested, so SpongeBob proceeds to more offers - including a bubble-blower that sends a stream of bubbles into Dennis' eyes, blinding him and making him even more angry. However, just as he is about to stomp on them with his boot, he ends up being knocked into the ocean by a floating sailboat.

As the duo arrives over Bikini Bottom, King Neptune is about to execute Mr. Krabs, but is being "stalled" by Mindy, driving him crazy; he angrily locks his daughter out of the restaurant by frightening her outside with his anger and putting a giant lock on the door. Meanwhile, Hasselhoff opens his pectoral muscles, prepares countdown, and shoots the duo down into Bikini Bottom at a fast speed, where they crash through the roof of the Krusty Krab 2, the crown deflecting the fiery blast from Neptune's magic trident that nearly kills Mr. Krabs, and gets launched up the surface, burning Hasselhoff. Neptune is happily reunited with his crown and Mindy congratulates SpongeBob and Patrick for their heroism, but unfortunately, that does not stop Plankton, as he dumps a king-sized Chum Bucket helmet on Neptune, also putting him under his control.

As Plankton's minions surround the heroes, SpongeBob realizes that Plankton did not care whether Krabs should be fried or not; he just wanted the power of the seas under his control, having used the theft of the crown to lure Neptune into the trap, thus SpongeBob thinks that Plankton cheated. He states to SpongeBob that he, actually, is an evil genius, and SpongeBob is just a stupid kid. When he discovers that Plankton is right, SpongeBob makes a speech about being oneself and how he did things others doubted him on in his journey. He then transforms into a wizard and breaks out into a bizarre rock version of the Goofy Goober theme song. Seeing his moves, Plankton yells for his minions to seize SpongeBob, but the latter uses his electric guitar's laser beams to destroy all the brain-control buckets. Plankton yells at Karen to do something, but she is too lured by the rock-and-roll to listen.

Irritated, Plankton tries to command King Neptune to stop SpongeBob, but the latter quickly destroys Neptune's helmet before he can finish speaking. Out of options, Plankton tries to escape, but is trampled before he can do so. After being stepped on by the fish, he gets arrested for the crimes of brainwashing the Bikini Bottom citizens, scapegoating Mr. Krabs, and also for stealing King Neptune's crown, and the cops put him in a small cage and take him away as he yells of vengeance. Neptune reaches an understanding not only with Mr. Krabs, but also with his daughter Mindy by finally winning her respect by becoming a better ruler thanks to her love and compassion for the sea creatures, and he thanks SpongeBob and Patrick for their heroism. He then turns to leave, but Mindy reminds him of Mr. Krabs. He then turns Mr. Krabs back to normal and apologizes to him for falsely accusing him of the crown theft, and Mr. Krabs also apologizes to SpongeBob for doubting him.

As SpongeBob attempts to deliver a heartfelt speech of realization, he does not know how to put it into words. Squidward has him covered and suggests to SpongeBob that he has learned that he does not really want to be the manager of the Krusty Krab 2, but SpongeBob eagerly takes the position after his speech, denying the moral and saying that he was just going to inform Squidward that his fly was down. As he swipes the manager name tag from Squidward's hands, SpongeBob ends the movie by jumping in midair in a cheerful state exclaiming that this is the best day of his life.

Images shown throughout the end credits show the sole two differences between the job of manager and fry-cook: There is a giant hat with the word "manager" imprinted on it and an extra cent in SpongeBob's paycheck. Nonetheless, SpongeBob takes on the role of manager of the Krusty Krab 2 with great pride, as the film signifies the conclusion of the franchise's story.

In a post-credits scene, the usher tells the pirates to leave the theater so she can clean up the mess they made while the movie draws to a close.

### Running gagsedit | edit source

* SpongeBob being called a "kid."
* The Goofy Goober Song being sung.
* King Neptune being called "bald."
* Plankton looking at his arms when someone says his arms are stubby.

## Castedit | edit source

### Main castedit | edit source

* Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants
* Clancy Brown as Eugene H. Krabs
* Rodger Bumpass as Squidward Tentacles
* Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick Star
* Doug Lawrence as Sheldon J. Plankton
* Jill Talley as Karen Plankton
* Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy Cheeks
* Mary Jo Catlett as Mrs. Puff
* Jeffrey Tambor as King Neptune
* Scarlett Johansson as Princess Mindy
* Alec Baldwin as Dennis
* David Hasselhoff as himself

## Productionedit | edit source

### Developmentedit | edit source

*The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie* was a long-planned production, since Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures had been approaching series creator Stephen Hillenburg to do a film on the show but he refused for more than a year. Hillenburg was worried about doing this, after watching *The Iron Giant* and *Toy Story* with his sons, because he conceived that it would be a challenge to give the characters of SpongeBob and Patrick something more cinematically consequential and inspiring to do, as long as it could be done without losing what he calls the SpongeBob "cadence." He said, while taking a break from his post-production labors, where he was also working on the fourth season, "To do a 75-minute movie about SpongeBob wanting to make some jellyfish jelly would be a mistake, I think [...] This had to be SpongeBob in a great adventure. That's where the comedy's coming from, having these two naïve characters, SpongeBob and Patrick, a doofus and an idiot, on this incredibly dangerous heroic odyssey with all the odds against them."

In 2002, Hillenburg and the show's staff members decided to stop making episodes to work on the film, after completing the show's third season. The film's plot originally had SpongeBob save Patrick from a fisherman in Florida. The obvious reference to the 2003 film *Finding Nemo* was later revealed by Tom Kenny, voice of SpongeBob, that it was a "joke" plot to keep the fans busy. To write the film, Hillenburg sat with five other writer-animators who had worked on the show including Paul Tibbitt, Derek Drymon, Aaron Springer, Kent Osborne and Tim Hill in a room in a former bank in Glendale, California for three months. Osbore said "It was hugely fun [...] although it did get kind of gamy in there." For the film, the writers concocted a mythical hero's quest, a search for a stolen crown that takes SpongeBob and Patrick to the surface. The idea interested Hillenburg to do the feature film with the characters. Bill Fagerbakke, the voice of Patrick, on the idea, said "It's just nuts. I'm continually dazzled and delighted with what these guys came up with."

Once the film was completed, Hillenburg wanted to end the series "so the show wouldn't jump the shark," but Nickelodeon wanted to do more episodes. Hillenburg said "Well, there was concern when we did the movie [in 2004] that the show had peaked. There were concerns among executives at Nickelodeon." Hillenburg resigned as the series' showrunner, and appointed Paul Tibbitt, who previously served as the show's supervising producer, writer, director, and storyboard artist, to overtake the role. Hillenburg considered Tibbitt one of his favorite members of the show's crew, and "totally trusted him [Paul Tibbitt]." Tibbitt still holds the showrunner position and also functions as an executive producer. Hillenburg no longer writes or runs the show on a day-to-day basis, but reviews each episode and delivers suggestions. He said "I figure when I'm pretty old I can still paint[...] I don't know about running shows." Tom Kenny and Bill Fagerbakke and the rest of the crew confirmed they have completed four new episodes for broadcast on Nickelodeon in early 2005, and planned to finish about 20 total for the then-fourth season.

During the production, Jules Engel, Hillenburg's mentor while he was studying experimental animation at the California Institute of the Arts, died in September 2003. Hillenburg decided to dedicate the film to him and said "He truly was the most influential artistic person in my life. I consider him my 'Art Dad.'"

### Filmingedit | edit source

The film featured live-action scenes directed by Mark Osborne in Santa Monica, California. During the 30-second opening of the film featuring the pirates singing the theme, the ship vessel used was the *Bounty*. The 180-ft long vessel was an enlarged reconstruction of the original 1787 Royal Navy sailing ship HMS *Bounty* built for the 1962 film *Mutiny on the Bounty*, and has also appeared in films such as *Treasure Island*, *Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest* and *Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End*.

David Hasselhoff's scene was originally asking without him being asked. Hillenburg was very happy after he finished roughing out the storyboards for it. Sherm Cohen, the lead storyboard artist, said "He had been wrestling with the ending for quite a while, and finally he was ready to pitch his ideas to some of the other board artists." Hillenburg was dependent on casting Hasselhoff and the first question to him was, "So, do we have Hasselhoff?" Hillenburg said "No" with a grin. Eventually, Hasselhoff said "I'm in" even he did not saw the material. Hillenburg said "He's a great guy[...] He was great at making fun of himself."

To complete the scene where Hasselhoff swims to the sea without hurting him, the film crew built a 750-pound, 12-foot replica of him. The replica costs $100,000 and is now at Hasselhoff's residence. Hasselhoff said "It freaked me out because it was so lifelike, with teeth, when you touch it feels like real skin. It's soft, like your skin." When and the rest of the crew completed filming, he said "That's ridiculously awesome. What are you gonna do with it?" Hasselhoff was asked if he want to keep the replica and he said "Uh, yeah. Okay." Hasselhoff also did takes in cold water where he was pulled by a sled nine yards across the sea. He described the experience as "Cold but lot of fun."

## Receptionedit | edit source

Despite the huge success of this film, the failure of *Rugrats Go Wild!* (2003) and *Hey Arnold! The Movie* (2002) prevented anymore Nickelodeon animated feature films from being made until 2010. This movie also received positive reviews in contrast to previous Nickelodeon movies such as *Harriet the Spy* (1996), *Good Burger* (1997), *The Rugrats Movie* (1998) and *Clockstoppers* (2002), which received mixed to negative reviews.

### Releaseedit | edit source

* The movie is available on The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie DVD, UMD, Digital, and Blu-ray releases.
* It is also available on VHS, but since the VHS format was discontinued in 2006, this version is now out of print. The VHS version can still be bought used from a thrift store, or from online sites such as Amazon and eBay, although the VHS version on Amazon and eBay can get expensive as of 2020.
* It is also available on The SpongeBob Movie Collection DVD and Blu-ray, Nickelodeon 6-Movie Collection, Really Big Box Set, SpongeBob StarPants, Sponge Crazy, The SpongeBob Movie Double Pack, The SpongeBob 3-Movie Collection, The SpongeBob SquarePants Double Feature, SpongeBob Double Feature, SpongeBob StarPants, Double DVD Fun 2, 3 Movie Pack, 3 Movie Pack volume 2, Really Big Box Set, Family Fun Collection, Limited Edition 2 DVD Box Set, Double Feature Volume 1, Kids Double Pack, and Movies & TV Collection.

## Triviaedit | edit source

### Generaledit | edit source

* The first feature film of Paramount Animation.

* In the time of this movie, SpongeBob has 374 consecutive employee of the month awards.
	+ With this in mind and the dates the movie show (March 7 and March 14), this would mean that the movie takes place from March 7, 2031 - March 14, 2031.
* In the rough storyboards for the movie (viewable here), Patchy (and Potty's string puppet) led the pirate crew. In the final film, they were replaced by a real parrot and a different pirate captain who, unlike Patchy, does not wear a hook on his hand.
	+ According to showrunner Vincent Waller, Patchy was replaced "because the movie folks don't really understand his appeal. Intentionally low production values scare them."
* The movie was originally going to be the series finale, but Nickelodeon wanted more episodes produced as this film became a big success. However, it wasn't the chronological finale of the series, despite continuing along the years.
* In the *Ice-Cream Dreams* storybook, Mr. Krabs doesn't correct himself after saying "Don't you understand-ager?" to SpongeBob.
* After the movie was made, Nickelodeon released a special issue of *Nickelodeon Magazine* about this film. It included interviews with the cast, an article about SpongeBob's origin, Patrick recounting his journey to Shell City, and a comic about Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy trying to stop Plankton during the events of the movie.
* There are two online games based on this movie called *Bubble Bustin' Game* and *The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 3D Game*.
	+ There are five books based on this film called *The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie* Cine-Manga book, *Are We There Yet?*, *The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie* book, *Ice-Cream Dreams*, and *Bubble Blowers, Beware!*
		- There is also a video game based on this film.
* This marks the only appearances of Captain Bart the Pirate, DJ, Mr. Whiskers, Ice cream lady, The Pirates, Phil, King Neptune's watch-guards, King Neptune's guards, Squire, Royal crown polisher, Shell City and Krusty Krab 2 to date.
* This marks Victor's last appearance to date.
* Some footage from the opening scene appears in the second movie's trailer.
	+ Music from the 2002 Disney film *Treasure Planet* and the 2001 Universal movie *The Mummy Returns* was used in one of the trailers.
* In the book *Ice-Cream Dreams*, it says the grand opening for the Krusty Krab 2 is March 3. However, in this movie, the grand opening is March 7.
	+ Additionally, the book *Bubble Blowers, Beware!* changes the rule of the Thug Tug into being laughed at if they blow bubbles rather than being beaten.
* Joshua Seth, who worked on this movie, also lent his voice to the Pioneer-Geneon dub of the 1988 Japanese animated film, *Akira*.
* *The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie* novel that was marketed during the film's marketing campaign had content altered from it, as well as rewording certain dialogues that was considered too intense for young readers.
* Patrick's quote "Did you see my underwear?" is later reused in the online games *Dutchman's Dash* and *Dirty Bubble Busters*.
* The song "Best Day Ever" heard during the end credits and in the movie's soundtrack would later be used in the episode of the same name, but shorter.
* This is the first appearance of Karen as a mobile device.
* Mr. Krabs does not communicate with Plankton at all in this movie, mostly due to him being frozen for a majority of the movie.
* A scene where SpongeBob and Patrick, after escaping from Shell City, encounter Sandy on the surface, who here has the appearance of a real-life squirrel, was planned for the film but was ultimately cut and Sandy instead appeared in the final film as one of the many citizens of Bikini Bottom that fell under Plankton's control via his Bucket Helmets. The animatic for the scene is included as a deleted scene on the special features of the DVD release. The scene was removed due to Patrick vomiting. However, the deleted scene of them meeting Sandy on the surface was later recycled into the second movie when SpongeBob and his friends are surprised by Sandy's superhero ability to be a giant real-life squirrel named "The Rodent."

* The surprised faces that Patrick and SpongeBob make near the cliffside would become a popular internet meme, and both faces later returned briefly in the episode "Scavenger Pants."
	+ It's also a idle animation both SpongeBob and Patrick in the 2020 video game *Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated*, a death animations in the Game Boy Advance version *SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis* and in the mobile game *Super Brawl Universe*.
	+ It was seen in online games *Which Patrick Are You?* and *SpongeBob Saves the Day!*
	+ It has been referenced by Nickelodeon's social media accounts.
	+ There is also an action figure based on Surprised Patrick that was released as part of the *Masterpiece Memes* toy line and a SpongeBob Memes Mash'ems based on it.
* This film features a different King Neptune from the one shown in the series.
	+ This was due to a firewall between Nickelodeon and Paramount content at the time. This resulted in other elements created for the first movie not being allowed to be used in the series from 2005 to 2014.
* In a deleted scene, during SpongeBob's awakening in Goofy Goober's Ice Cream Party Boat, he asks for a "double fudge spiny." This rejected line was used in a storybook based on this movie released during the time called *Ice-Cream Dreams*.
* The movie was dedicated in memory of Jules Engel. In September 2003, during production, Engel, Stephen Hillenburg's mentor when he studied experimental animation at the California Institute of the Arts, died. Hillenburg dedicated the film to him: "He truly was the most influential artistic person in my life. I consider him my 'Art Dad'."
* The teaser trailer uses footage from submarine films: *Das Boot*, *The Hunt for Red October*, and *U-571*.
	+ Not coincidentally, Alec Baldwin, who played Jack Ryan from *The Hunt for Red October*, is the voice of Dennis.
* Elmer's Glue, a real-life glue item, makes a product placement in this movie when the Cyclops is making a shell and when a lobster shoots it at him at the Shell City Gift Shop.
* This movie is a movie inside a movie because the Pirates are watching the *SpongeBob* movie in an actual theater.
* Plankton getting flattened by the crowd is similar to how Squidward gets trampled by the same crowd in "Graveyard Shift" and "Squid on Strike." Both scenes involve Sandals stepping on them first, them looking completely flat and filled with footprints, and the crowd running towards the Krusty Krab.
* The Goofy Goober underwear that Patrick wears appears again in "Born to Be Wild."
* This movie reveals that by an unspecified period of time, SpongeBob learns how to drive a stick-shift vehicle ever since he is not good at driving at Mrs. Puff's Boating School.
* SpongeBob says he won Employee of the Month 374 consecutive times. 374 months is equal to about 31 years.
* During the first half of the closing credits to this movie, SpongeBob's Krusty Krab employee hat appears to be bigger than normal, and it vertically reads "MANAGER."
* A sequel to this movie was announced on February 28, 2012, and was released on February 6, 2015. A third movie was announced on April 30, 2015, and was released on Paramount+ on March 4, 2021.
* When Patrick and King Neptune argue about how many days they should get for their journey, it is similar to how he and the Flying Dutchman argue about how many wishes SpongeBob and he should get in "Shanghaied."
	+ Patrick also argued to King Neptune before in "Neptune's Spatula" on how many challenges SpongeBob will have.
* This film is mentioned in the 2012 movie *Piranha 3DD* by David Hasselhoff, who guest-starred in this film. In it, Hasselhoff asks a kid if he knows him from *The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie*.
* A clip of SpongeBob in the grand opening ceremony from the movie was featured in the 2017 film *Daddy's Home 2*.
* The movie foreshadows Goofy Goober's when a toy of the Goofy Goober peanut is seen in SpongeBob's toy chest near the beginning.
* This movie has a unique animation style in that the characters have distorted-looking looks and bodies and color scheme (for the fish). It will be used again the second film (in Bikini Bottom).
* This movie is one of the few times where Gary speaks. He says "Meow, Plankton."
* The pufferfish in Shell City bears a similar backstory to Mrs. Puff's husband, Mr. Puff, who met the horrible fate of being turned into a pufferfish lamp, as shown in the episode "Krusty Love."
* This film was released in between the episodes "Pranks a Lot" and "Fear of a Krabby Patty," thus between the conclusion of season 3 and the start of season 4.
* This is the first *SpongeBob SquarePants* production to be presented in widescreen.
* This was the first non-*Rugrats* film to have a sequel from Nickelodeon Movies.
* *The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie* was, for its time, the highest-grossing animated feature film by Paramount Pictures and the highest-grossing one based on a television series, surpassing *Rugrats in Paris: The Movie* from 2000. However, it was eventually surpassed by *The Simpsons Movie* in 2007 for the latter title, and by *The Adventures of Tintin* in 2011 for the former title.
* There are a few strawberries that are splattered on the waiter, but there are no strawberries visible on the ice cream. It is possible that the strawberries are hidden inside the ice cream.
* In this film, Squidward rides a recumbent bicycle. This was inspired by the fact that his voice actor, Rodger Bumpass, also rides a recumbent bike in real life.
* On one airing, after the movie, the cut-short version of the Nickelodeon Movies logo from the 2002 film Hey Arnold!: The Movie was shown before "Naughty Nautical Neighbors".
* The date March 14 became a memorable day to people on the internet known solely for being "the day that Krabs fries," which is what Plankton says during a scene with Mr. Krabs frozen near the end of the movie.

### Cultural referencesedit | edit source

* This movie has many inspirations to the epic Greek poem "*The Odyssey*" by Homer, specifically the Bag of Winds and the Cyclops.
* David Hasselhoff acting as a lifeguard in this movie is a nod to his role as Mitch Buchannon, from the TV series *Baywatch*.
* The song "Goofy Goober Rock" is a parody of the song "I Wanna Rock" by Twisted Sister.
* The Goober meal is similar to the McDonald's happy meal.
* When SpongeBob and Patrick are in the Nut Bar a picture of Popeye, a panel from his comic strip series, and a panel from the comic strip *Krazy Kat* can be seen framed on the wall behind them.
* Floyd and Lloyd look very similar to Mario and Luigi from the Super Mario Bros. games because of their colored caps, long pants and similar heights as Mario and Luigi.
	+ They are also a reference to the characters Feed and Seed from the 5th episode of season 11 of The Simpsons in which both sets of characters tease the protagonists about being "city slickers" and tell them that they will not last long in the countryside.
* When Cyclops is making a knick-knack out of a clam, he names it "Alexander Clam Bell," which is a parody of Alexander Graham Bell with a telephone replica attached. Alexander Graham Bell was the inventor of the telephone.
* The Patty Wagon is similar to the burger car from another Paramount and Nickelodeon movie, *Good Burger*.
* King Neptune's trident being accidentally set to "Real Boy" is a reference to *Pinocchio*.
* In one scene, there are two fish headbanging to "Goofy Goober Rock." They are a reference to the characters from the MTV cartoon *Beavis and Butt-Head*, as the two fish have the same color scheme and hair color as them.

### Errorsedit | edit source

* SpongeBob had his shoes on while he put his pants on, but in the scene before that, he was only wearing his socks.

* Multiple incidentals change their position in the scene where Mr. Krabs is announcing the new manager, as seen here.
* Mr. Krabs says near the end of the movie "I'm going to do something that I should have done 6 days ago." He means 7 because it was the day after when SpongeBob got the 6-day challenge to get the crown. It is likely that when SpongeBob started the 6-day challenge, Mr. Krabs already decided to make SpongeBob the manager.
* The size of the crown changes throughout most of the movie. When Plankton is carrying it, he is as big as the tip, but when SpongeBob attempts to lift it, it looks gigantic compared to him.
* When there is a close-up of the Patty Wagon's pickle-like wheels, they are bumpy. However, in the next scene, they are regular wheels instead.
* When Mindy talks to King Neptune, she has her golden band, however, the next scene her golden band disappears, and then it reappears.

* While jumping off the Patty Wagon, the top part of SpongeBob becomes transparent for a split second.
* When SpongeBob and Patrick are eating their Triple Gooberberry Sundaes, pink ice cream is splattered on the waiter, however, there is no pink ice cream visible on the sundae.
* After the end credits where the pirates are still in the movie theater and the usher comes in to tell them it is time to go, there is less popcorn on the floor, but as the pirates are leaving and she continues her sweeping job, there is more popcorn all over the floor.
	+ It is likely that the extra popcorn came from the pirates who stood up.
* When Plankton sees King Neptune's castle 7 houses can be seen and no guards are visible, seconds in there's a guard in the corner of the scene where he flies in a opened window of the castle and doesn't notice him.
	+ After retrieving the crown the guard is nowhere to be seen and the houses decrease to 5.
* The position of Mr. Krabs changes when Plankton's getting the formula.
* The Chum Bucket keeps changing positions in this film, first The Chum Bucket was far way and sideways from The Krusty Krab and The Krusty Krab 2, then across the street from The Krusty Krab 2 when Plankton steals the formula, then it was between The Krusty Krab and The Krusty Krab 2, and it's nowhere to be seen when the Bikini Bottomites under Plankton's mind control are working.