Need 2 Speed

***Need 2 Speed*** is a 2005 American live-action/animated racing comedy film based on the video game series by Electronic Arts. It is the second film in the *Need for Speed* film series. The film was co-written, directed, and co-produced by *SpongeBob SquarePants* series creator Stephen Hillenburg and starred the series' cast of Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass and Mr. Lawrence, with guest performances by David Hasselhoff. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures and produced by Hillenburg's production company United Plankton Pictures along with Neal H. Moritz's Original Film and MTV Films.

*Need 2 Speed* is a standalone sequel to *The Need for Speed* (2003), and plans for a second installment were developed immediately following the box office success of the first entry.

The film was widely promoted by Warner Bros. and Paramount, with tie-in promotions made by 7-Eleven, the Cayman Islands and Burger King, which decorated various of its franchises with 9-foot (2.7 m) SpongeBob inflatable figures. The film was a box office success and grossed $143 million in the United States and $347 million worldwide, and received generally positive reviews from critics. Another standalone sequel, *The Need for Speed: Beijing Drift*, was released on May 4, 2006.

## Cast

* Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants
* Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick Star
* Clancy Brown as Mr. Krabs
* Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy Cheeks
* Rodger Bumpass as Squidward Tentacles
* Mr. Lawrence as Plankton
* David Hasselhoff as himself

## Release

*Need 2 Speed* opened in theaters on June 17, 2005; its yellow-carpet world premiere was at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on June 12. Among celebrities who saw the premiere with their children were Ray Romano, Larry King, Ice Cube, *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation*Template:'s Gary Dourdan and *Friends*Template:' Lisa Kudrow. The carpet was a reminder of home for Tom Kenny, SpongeBob's voice actor; he said, "I have a 15-month-old daughter, so I'm no stranger to yellow carpets."

### Marketing

Julia Pistor, the film's co-producer, said that although Nickelodeon (which owns the *SpongeBob* trademark) wanted to sell character-themed backpacks, lunch boxes and wristwatches it respected Hillenburg's integrity and gave him control of merchandising. Hillenburg had no problem with candy and ice cream tie-ins, Pistor said (because of the treats' simplicity), but he had issues with fast food tie-ins; according to him, the latter was "full of hidden additives." Pistor said, "The trouble is that you can't go out with animated films without a fast-food tie-in [...] People don't take you seriously." Hillenburg replied, "Yeah, well, my take on that is that we shouldn't do that [...] We didn't want to suddenly become the people serving up food that's not that good for you - especially kids. We work with Burger King, and they make toys and watches. But to actually take the step of pushing the food, that's crossing the line. I don't want to be the Pied Piper of fast food."

The film was promoted across the United States. Electronic Arts joined Burger King for a 12-figure toy line based on the film, and about 4,700 Burger King stores perched 9-foot (2.7 m), inflatable SpongeBob figures on their roofs as part of the promotion (one of the largest in fast-food history). Customers could also purchase one of five different SpongeBob-themed watches for $1.99 with the purchase of a value meal.

### *Need for Sponge* 300

On October 15, 2004, the film was the first to sponsor a NASCAR race: the 300-mile (480 km), Busch Series *Need for Sponge* 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina. It was the first race of its kind where children at the track could listen to a special, "kid-friendly" radio broadcast of the event.

Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson debuted a pair of *SpongeBob SquarePants*-themed Lowe's Chevrolet race cars in the race. Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet included an image of SpongeBob across the hood, and Busch's No. 5 Chevrolet featured Patrick Star. Johnson said, "This sounds so cool [...] I know there are a lot of families who will be excited that Lowe's is doing this. The great thing is there will be something for every type of race fan. Plus how can we go wrong with SpongeBob helping us out on the car?"