Encyclopedia SpongeBobia
Register
Advertisement
Encyclopedia SpongeBobia
This is the page about the movie. For other uses, see The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (disambiguation).

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run is a film based on Nickelodeon's hit TV show SpongeBob SquarePants. In this movie, SpongeBob and Patrick go on a rescue mission to save Gary, who's been snailnapped by King Poseidon and taken to the Lost City of Atlantic City.
It is the third film in the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise,[11] released on March 4, 2021 on premium video-on-demand and Paramount+ in the United States.[12]

On July 15, 2020, Netflix acquired international distribution rights to the film, excluding the United States, Canada, and China.[13][14][15] On July 30, 2020, Paramount Pictures Canada announced that the film would be released in Canadian theaters on August 14, 2020.[16] The website for the movie also lists this airdate, but automatically redirects to the SpongeBobMovie Facebook page for viewers in the United States. The film was released internationally on Netflix on November 5, 2020.[17][18]

Characters[]

Plot[]

Act 1[]

The movie starts with an opening shot of Bikini Bottom, which takes us to SpongeBob's pineapple. Gary is shown waking SpongeBob up, leaving snail trail on his face. After this, SpongeBob rushes to yell "Good morning" to Patrick. Patrick yells "Good morning" back to SpongeBob, and they keep saying "Good morning" to each other until Squidward rushes to quiet them down. SpongeBob and Patrick both yell "Good morning" to Squidward, who closes his window and accidentally catches his nose in it. We see SpongeBob feeding Gary, which leads to an unrealistic montage showing SpongeBob and Gary's daily routine. Once the montage finishes, SpongeBob rushes to the Krusty Krab in order to be early, leaving Gary sad and alone.

The SpongeBob Movie Sponge on the Run 102

"We're running out of room on the Wall of Failure."

At the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob unintentionally annoys Squidward with his shenanigans. Mr. Krabs walks out of his office and commands SpongeBob to raise the colors and hoist the mainsail. He tells Squidward to deploy the smokestacks. Meanwhile, at the Chum Bucket, we see Plankton plotting yet another evil plan to get the Krabby Patty secret formula, until Karen stops him. She reminds him of his "wall of failures," which is a huge wall filled with pictures of Plankton's past failures. Karen then convinces Plankton that SpongeBob is the reason for all of his continued failures. As usual, Plankton ignores Karen's advice and continues his plan.

Act 2[]

The SpongeBob Movie Sponge on the Run 133

Sandy introducing Otto.

Meanwhile, in the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob is busy cooking and serving Krabby Patties, when Sandy arrives with a special invention, a robot named Otto, so she shows the robot to Mr. Krabs and the crustacean falls in love with it when he realizes it's free and has no emotions, as he thinks it's a great invention to fire people without remorse, so after some humorous antics Mr. Krabs throws Otto to Plankton's garbage can, so then Karen decides to adopt Otto.

A bubble wipe takes us to the Krusty Krab at night, where Mr. Krabs tells SpongeBob to clean up the place. One cleaning montage later, SpongeBob is ready to go home when suddenly the camera zooms into a jar of pickles, revealing Plankton, disguised as a Pickle is ready to steal a Krabby Patty, so he uses a giant mechanical claw to remove a food cover from a Krabby Patty, so once he's about to accomplish this, SpongeBob enters the kitchen looking for keys, causing Plankton to fall on a puddle, a series of comical mishaps leads us to landing on the fryer, when he suddenly realizes that SpongeBob truly is the factor for all his failures.

Act 3[]

The SpongeBob Movie Sponge on the Run 226

The movie transitions to the Lost City of Atlantic City, where we meet Poseidon who discovers the existence of a wrinkle right next to his eye, so he demands Chancellor to bring him a snail, he uses the snail's trail as a face cream, when suddenly he discovers that the snail's trail has ran out, so he orders another snail to be brought to him immediately, then the Chancellor tells Poseidon that they ran out of snails, leading to the Chancellor writing a royal decree and posting it all over town, when Plankton reads one, he gets the brilliant idea of kidnapping Gary and sending SpongeBob on a risky mission to get Gary from the Lost City of Atlantic City, thereby getting rid of SpongeBob forever.

The next morning, a distraught SpongeBob arrives home, where he can't seem to find Gary anywhere, leading to a flashback to Camp Coral, where SpongeBob met Gary. Patrick then tells SpongeBob that he found one of his "Lost Snail" posters, when he gets the idea of looking for clues, his plan eventually works as they both find the royal decree mentioned earlier, so SpongeBob assumes Gary's been snailnapped and taken to the Lost City of Atlantic City.

After a comedic pep talk, SpongeBob and Patrick are ready to go rescue Gary, but they'll need some wheels first, luckily Plankton (as part of his plan) provides SpongeBob and Patrick a free ride to the Lost City of Atlantic City, with Otto as the driver, so our heroes embark on a very dangerous mission to go rescue Gary. Meanwhile, Mr. Krabs and Squidward find out SpongeBob is missing and can't cook for the customers leading to them acting like savages. While that is going on, SpongeBob and Patrick wake up in a dream where they find a bar called "The Inferno Saloon" in the middle of a town called "Goner Gulch," when suddenly a taking tumbleweed named Sage gives the duo a so-called Challenge Coin that's supposed to give SpongeBob the courage needed on his journey.

The SpongeBob Movie Sponge on the Run 465

The two are assigned with a task before they can actually look for Gary, the task is to free the souls from "The Inferno Saloon" so after a musical number, a human known as El Diablo enters the bar capturing SpongeBob and Patrick in a cage, once they get out of the cage, El Diablo tries to kill them with a knife until the duo open the curtains letting the sunlight evaporate El Diablo thereby freeing the souls from "The Inferno Saloon" like Sage told them to. However, El Diablo comes back as a smoke monster and tries to kill SpongeBob and Patrick once again, but is quickly defeated. Soon after they both wake up from the dream but somehow Sage is still in the picture and tells them to look at the Window of Meanwhile, a magical device which allows them to watch what's happening in the kingdom, where they find Poseidon using Gary as a face cream, horrified by this SpongeBob and Patrick hurry to the Lost City of Atlantic City.

Act 4[]

A bubble transition takes us to an empty Krusty Krab, where we see an upset Mr. Krabs devastated for losing each and every customer he once had (not too long ago), when suddenly Plankton enters the Krusty Krab and demands Mr. Krabs to give him the secret formula once it for all, Mr. Krabs, without hesitation, takes out a tiny secret formula from his belt and hands it to Plankton, who at first happily receives it, feels empty and upset at seeing Mr. Krabs so depressed.

The SpongeBob Movie Sponge on the Run 552

Meanwhile the duo finally arrive to the Lost City of Atlantic City, where Sage advices them to not lose any focus, when at first the duo ignore him, they quickly do in fact lose focus, leading to a montage of SpongeBob and Patrick riding rollercoasters, eating food, and gambling, it all leads to them waking up drunk and confused. When they finally regain consciousness, they hurry to the kingdom's stage entrance where they find themselves forced to participate on the talent show, then SpongeBob finds Gary and tries to get him home, but Poseidon won't let that so he gets SpongeBob arrested.

A fade out takes us to Sandy sledding to SpongeBob's pineapple where she finds out he's missing, so she goes to the Krusty Krab and starts blaming Mr. Krabs and Squidward on SpongeBob's disappearance, when they finally explain that they weren't guilty, a Bikini Bottom news report explaining SpongeBob and Patrick's arrest plays on the Krusty Krab television, so Mr. Krabs, Squidward, Sandy and Plankton embark on another dangerous journey to free SpongeBob and Patrick.

Act 5[]

We then find SpongeBob and Patrick in Poseidon's dungeon, when SpongeBob finds out he lost his "Challenge Coin" by gambling it (despite Patrick asking SpongeBob to think twice about doing so), the duo get on a fight and are then sent to their frightening execution, only to be sabotaged by Mr. Krabs, Squidward, Sandy and Plankton, they then start explaining why SpongeBob shouldn't get executed by travelling back to Kamp Koral in the form of flashbacks.

Sandy's Flashback: We see a young SpongeBob arrive to Camp Coral when he suddenly meets a young Sandy, she then explains why she has to wear her famous astronaut suit and SpongeBob asks if she's a scientist, with Sandy replying no, he then tells her that she can do anything, Sandy is then quickly convinced by SpongeBob that she can indeed be a scientist if she wanted to, ending the flashback.

The SpongeBob Movie Sponge on the Run 808

SpongeBob and Patrick meet for the first time.

Patrick's Flashback: We see a young Patrick crying on top of a log, then SpongeBob finds him crying and asks him what's wrong, Patrick explains he's homesick and has no friends, so SpongeBob decides to befriend the little sea star and invites him to jellyfish with him.

Squidward's Flashback: Squidward explains that back then, he wanted to win the Annual Kamp Koral Talent Show more than anything, and when SpongeBob and Patrick's act steals the crowd, Squidward runs crying to his cabin, then SpongeBob and Patrick enter his cabin and explain that there was an evaluating mistake and Squidward actually won the Kampy Award by a landslide.

After these flashbacks, Mr. Krabs gives out a speech about how SpongeBob inspired him to open the Krusty Krab and how SpongeBob is in fact the secret formula to the Krabby Patty, after that, the crew perform "Secret to the Formula" which is a distraction for SpongeBob to get his hands on Gary and replace it with a wooden imitation. Once Poseidon discovers this, he sends his guards to get them.

Act 6[]

After a chase scene, the gang hide in a knight armor leading to an intense climax with the guards fighting the knight armor being controlled by SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Sandy and Plankton, they all get rounded up by Poseidon. However, it reveals that he found the whole ordeal to be exciting and agrees to let them go, if they hand over Gary. SpongeBob is destroyed by this proposal, but then Sage appears and reminds the yellow sponge that the courage he needs to confront Poseidon is inside him.

The SpongeBob Movie Sponge on the Run 1069

Turns out, King Poseidon had a wig, a neck clip, detachable teeth, and a chest plate all along!

So he defies Poseidon and tells him that he loves Gary too much to hand him over. He then compliments and thanks his friends for sticking up for him, but he indirectly insults the Greek God, making Poseidon ready to attack when he is stopped by SpongeBob when he tells him he doesn't have any loyal friends, Poseidon laughs at it first but after actually checking with everyone on his kingdom, he comes to the sad conclusion that he doesn't have any friends. Upset by this, Poseidon cries but SpongeBob tells him that he'll gladly be his friend if he doesn't kidnap Gary, Poseidon explains that if he doesn't keep the snail then he wouldn't be able to get rid of his wrinkle, but SpongeBob explains that looks don't matter, what matters is what's inside, so after this advice, Poseidon starts "loosening up a bit" by taking off his wig, removing his neck clip, begones his perfect shiny teeth and dentures and taking off his chest plate and girdle.

When he realizes how free he feels like that, he salutes SpongeBob for having the courage to stand up against a powerful king, and frees Gary and all the snails he previously kidnapped, so SpongeBob has the idea to turn Bikini Bottom into a sea snail refuge.

The movie ends with a dedication to the original creator of SpongeBob SquarePants, Stephen Hillenburg, as the ending of the theme song plays in the background.

Cast[]

Production[]

Storyboards[]

Concept art[]

Bikini Bottom[]

Krusty Krab[]

Atlantic City[]

Poseidon's Palace[]

Camp Coral[]

Characters/Props[]

Others[]

Music[]

 ) Production music
 ) Original music
 ) SpongeBob music

  Paramount 100th Anniversary Fanfare - Michael Giacchino [Paramount Animation logo]
  Nickelodeon Mnemonic - Explosion Robinson [Nickelodeon Movies logo]
  Bikini Bottom - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro [opening titles/"Here, one can find..."]
[20]   It's Always Summer in Bikini Bottom - Weezer [SpongeBob and Gary's daily routine]
  Opening Time - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro ["Get movin', Sailor!"]
  A Diabolical Plan - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro ["Not Mr. Krabs."]
  You’ve Got One Now - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro [SpongeBob cleans up in Krusty Krab]
  The Secret Formula Is Mine - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro [Plankton recognizes the secret formula]
  The Royal Poseidon - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro ["It's like a baby's butt."]
  Gary’s Missing - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro [How SpongeBob Met Gary]
  Things Go Better With Friends - Tim Hill [Patrick trying to motivate SpongeBob (deleted scene)]
  Slow Ride - David Peverett ["Beep, beep"]
  Roadtrip - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro ["One of those buddy comedies.']
  On the Road Again - Willie Nelson ["Come on, guys!"]
  Goner Gulch - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro ["This must be a dream."]
  Dream Weaver - Gary Wright ["And I am the Dream Weaver"]
  El Diablo - Tim Hill and Steve Mazzaro ["Ah, El Diablo the Wicked approaches."]
  How We Do - Tim Hill, Snoop Dogg, Ali Dee, Alex Geringas [Zombie Dance Party]
  El Diablo - Tim Hill, Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro ["It's not a dream!!!"/Whirlwind El Diablo chases SpongeBob and Patrick]
  Livin' La Vida Loca - Desmond Child, Robi Rosa [SpongeBob and Patrick riding amusement park rides and gambling in casinos]
  Aka Waka Maka Mia - Tim Hill ["Well, let's have it. Perform please!"]
  His Name is Fred - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro [You renamed Gary?!]
  Sandy's Arrival - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro [Sandy arriving at SpongeBob's house]
  Where is He? - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro ["We need SpongeBob back."]
  Gary's Song (Sponge on the Run) - Kenny G, Stew, Heidi Rodewald ["It's a fun-filled family event, with opening act, Kelpy G"]
  To the Patty Mobile - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro ["We embark immediately!"]
  ? - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro [SpongeBob and Patrick in the dungeon]
  Hey Pachuco! - James Achor, David Mando Dorame, Edwin Nichols
  Storming The Last City - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro ["No time to lose!"]
  Tijuana Taxi - Ervan F. Coleman
  My Heart Will Go On - Kenny G, James Horner, Will Jennings [The execution]
  ? - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro [Chancellor's speech]
  ? - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro [SpongeBob arrives in Camp Coral]
  The Defense - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro [Patrick's flashback]
  Flight of the Bumblebee - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov [Performance of Larry at Camp Coral talent show]
  Aka Waka Maka Mia - Tim Hill [Performance of SpongeBob and Patrick at Camp Coral talent show]
  My Heart Will Go On - Kenny G, James Horner, Will Jennings [Performance of Squidward at Camp Coral talent show]
  ? - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro [Squidward's bad clarinet playing]
  The Campy Award - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro ["I was robbed. And never to play the clarinet again."]
  The Secret to the Formula - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro [Mr. Krabs' speech]
  Secret to the Formula - Tim Hill, Cyndi Lauper, Rob Hyman ["Maestro?"]
  After Them! - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro ["Seize them!"]
  Friends like These - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro ["The Courage Inside You..."]
  You’ve Got One Now - Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro [A reconciliation with Poseidon]
  Take On Me - Weezer ["And free the snails!"]
  SpongeBob SquarePants Theme Song - Stephen Hillenburg, Derek Drymon ["In Memory of Stephen Hillenburg"]
  Agua - J Balvin, Tainy, Jhay Cortez, Alejandro Ramírez, Kevyn Mauricio Cruz Moreno, Juan Camilo Vargas, Alejandro Borrero, Ivanni Rodriguez [Closing credits — part 1]
  Krabby Step - Michael Stevenson, Khalif Brown, Lathan Moses Stanley Echols, Donny Flores, Marcos Masis, Albert Menendez, Alejandro Borrero, Pablo Batista, Robert Alexander White [Closing credits — part 2]
  Snail: I'm Avail - The Flaming Lips [Closing credits — part 3]
  Gary's Song - Kenny G, Stew, Heidi Rodewald [Closing credits — part 4]
This list is incomplete, but you can help Encyclopedia SpongeBobia by expanding it.

Release[]

Sequel[]

On February 15, 2022, a fourth theatrical SpongeBob SquarePants movie was officially announced during Paramount' Investor Event.[21][22] On April 27, 2023, it was revealed at Cinemacon that the film will be titled The SpongeBob Movie: The Search for SquarePants.[23]

Trivia[]

General[]

Sponge-on-the-Run-deleted-scene-Pearl-1
Sponge-on-the-Run-deleted-scene-Pearl-2

Pearl's deleted scenes from the movie, drawn by Aaron Springer.

  • The Blu-ray release includes deleted scenes. One of the original opening scenes (watchable here) featured Pearl Krabs rollerskating around the house while Mr. Krabs counts money. In the final cut, this scene was shortened to only include Mr. Krabs counting money.
  • This is Paramount's first movie where their opening logo is replaced by Paramount Animation.
  • This is the first piece of SpongeBob media to be released digitally in the 4K UHD HDR format.
  • This is the third SpongeBob production that involves full CGI sequences, the first being The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water and the second being "Karen's Virus." This is the second SpongeBob movie to do so.
    • However, unlike the second movie, this movie is mostly CGI-animated, though having a live-action scene, whereas Sponge Out Of Water was mostly 2D animated and usually had CGI models in live-action environments.
      • Due to this movie being entirely CGI-animated and live-action, this marks the first SpongeBob movie to not have any involvement with Rough Draft Studios in South Korea. Rough Draft Studios was known for animating the 2D hand-drawn sequences in the previous 2 SpongeBob movies.
  • The release of this movie makes SpongeBob SquarePants one of several Nickelodeon series to receive a trilogy of theatrical films; Rugrats, Winx Club, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have also had trilogies of films.
3Movie Karen New

Karen's design is unique and mixes elements of her previous two designs.

  • This movie had its American TV premiere on Nickelodeon on November 25, 2022.[24]
  • Karen's design in this movie is unique and mixes elements of her silver design from the first movie and her blue design from the main series. She is silver and has bolts on her screen like in the first movie, but she has panels and wheels on the bottom like in the series.
    • Karen's voice is also slightly warped to more resemble a robotic tone.
  • One of the robots in Plankton's lab is from the episode "Plankton's Army" sitting next to his robot chef he once put SpongeBob's brain in.
  • Some pictures on Plankton's Wall of Failure shows pictures of his schemes from previous episodes in the series, like "Culture Shock," "Welcome to the Chum Bucket," "Imitation Krabs," "The Algae's Always Greener," The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, "Krabs vs. Plankton," "Enemy In-Law," "Gramma's Secret Recipe," and one picture of Plankton in a can of tuna referencing the episode "Hooky."
  • Three copies of Perch Perkins can be seen in Atlantic City. This marks the first time that he has been used as a generic background character model, rather than just as an individual character.
  • This movie has a similar plot to the season 4 episode "Have You Seen This Snail?," as both involve Gary being taken in by a stranger and SpongeBob and Patrick teaming up to go find him.
    • It was later confirmed by Tim Hill that the story was indeed, inspired by this episode as "Stephen wanted to springboard off of that idea for the movie."[26]
    • It is also referenced in the promotional material, as SpongeBob and Patrick make "Lost Pet" posters for Gary, which happened in the episode as well.
    • This is the third time Gary goes missing. The first time was the aforementioned "Have You Seen This Snail?" and the second time was "Gary in Love" from season 7.
      • He was also mentioned by SpongeBob to have been lost for eight minutes in "Plankton's Pet," though that was never shown onscreen.
    • SpongeBob also looks for Gary and shouts his name several times, once in the elongated speech, similar to how he does in "Have You Seen This Snail?"
  • The film's title follows the same pattern as the previous one, both starting with "The SpongeBob Movie" followed by a colon stating the more important part of the title.
  • This marks the third time Squidward has said the line "Another day, another migraine," the first two being in "SpongeBob Meets the Strangler," and in the song Bikini Bottom Day from the The SpongeBob Musical.
  • This film has been promoted heavily on the official SpongeBob Movie Twitter account, which uses the #SaveGary hashtag followed by a Gary emoji hashtag whenever tweeting content related to the movie.
  • One of the "lost pet" posters in the promotional material lists "Gare-bear" as one of the nicknames Gary responds to. This is a reference to "Krab Borg" where SpongeBob calls him that name.
  • This is the first movie from SpongeBob to mention social media, to be specific, Skype and FaceTime.
    Tattoo Artist

    The date May 1, 1999 can be seen on his right fin.

  • King Poseidon's tattooist has the date May 1, 1999 tattooed on his arm, which is the date SpongeBob SquarePants premiered on television.
  • In most episodes that flashback to SpongeBob as a kid, his voice sounds similar to his modern adult one if never done with a somewhat higher pitch. However, in this film, he has a realistic-sounding childish voice, provided by Antonio Raul Corbo.
  • According to the website FlixPatrol, the movie got Top 1 on Netflix worldwide.[27]
  • In the trailer, the Krusty Krab's basement from the first film is seen, as well as a Patty Wagon-like vehicle, but it resembles either a hoagie or submarine sandwich, instead of the burger shape that the original Patty Wagon had.
  • On the bottom of the "Lost Pet" promotional poster, there is a Number, (707) 663-GARY, If called, a custom recording of SpongeBob plays informing that the recipient has reached "The Find Gary Hotline." SpongeBob then manages to find the button to make a beep but fails, and ends up making a beep himself, ending the recording.
    The_SpongeBob_Movie_Sponge_On_The_Run_Poster_Hotline_(_SaveGary)_Recording

    The SpongeBob Movie Sponge On The Run Poster Hotline ( SaveGary) Recording

    The Find Gary hotline

  • The flashbacks show SpongeBob met Gary at Camp Coral. However, in "Treats!," a photo shows he got Gary at a pound.
  • Patrick jokes that his name means "toaster" in Celtic and Sage acknowledges that it's probably not true.
    • In actuality, the name "Patrick" originates from the Latin Patricius, meaning patrician or nobleman.
  • Patrick mistakes a "7" for an "L." The reverse happened in "Party Pooper Pants."
  • SpongeBob is revealed to have several photos of Gary hung on his wall and a playpen for Gary, neither of which have been shown in his house before.
  • As of June 14, 2020, the film was officially rated PG by the MPA due to "rude humor, some thematic elements, and mild language."
    • It was also rated PG by the BBFC for "mild bad language, scary scenes,"[28] making it the first theatrical SpongeBob film to get that rating in the United Kingdom.
  • This movie was originally going to be released in May 2020, but it was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The date eventually got pushed to March 2021.
    • However, it had already been released outside of the United States before its official debut in that country.
    • Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this is the third animated film to be released straight to digital/home media instead of having a theatrical release in the United States; the first two being Warner Bros.' Scoob! (which would eventually get a theatrical release in the said country one year later) and Disney/Pixar's Soul.
  • This is the first SpongeBob film to have an original music score composed by two composers instead of just one.
    • It is also the first film in the series to not use production music cues.
  • This movie has been delayed more times than the previous 2 SpongeBob movies.
  • During Squidward's flashback at the camp's talent show, Sandy is seen juggling chainsaws, a feat she previously performed in "Squirrel Record."
  • This is the second time Matt Berry had a role in a SpongeBob movie. The first being the previous one, Sponge Out of Water, as Bubbles.
  • This is the second time Goofy Goober's Ice Cream Party Boat is shown in a movie.
  • The flower arch in Bikini Bottom shown in "Pizza Delivery" makes an appearance.
  • This is the second time SpongeBob keeps a lot of snails in his house, the first being in "Sanctuary!"
  • Unlike the previous SpongeBob films, this marks the first SpongeBob movie to not have a post-credits scene.
  • The balding guy is seen as a bakerman as he returns for the first time.
The SpongeBob Movie Sponge on the Run 1102

In Memory of Stephen Hillenburg.

  • This is the second SpongeBob project to commemorate the death of creator Stephen Hillenburg (who passed away two years before this movie premiered). The first project was "SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout."
    • This film ending, the tribute reads "In Memory of Stephen Hillenburg," with a SpongeBoy drawing (an early version of colorized SpongeBob) above it. During this scene, the end part of the SpongeBob theme song plays before transitioning to "Agua," the soundtrack in the credits.
      • Only in the Dutch dub, the theme song was replaced with the Dutch theme song. All other dubs so far remain the English one.[1]
  • This movie is to be released on Netflix in Ireland as the first ever Irish language version of a movie to appear on the platform.
  • In one scene at The Krusty Krab, if one can see closely, there is a "SpongeBoy" sketch near the cashier window.
  • The scene where young Sandy imagines that she is a scientist is made by the studio Screen Novelties.
  • This movie reunites Richard Horvitz with Rodger Bumpass, as they were previously casted together in Invader Zim and Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus.
  • In the first trailer, SpongeBob finds green slime in Gary's playpen, but in the second trailer, it is blue instead.
  • There's two versions of the same scene where SpongeBob kicks his front door open. In the first trailer, SpongeBob has a mad look on his face while Patrick talks to him. While in the World Laughter Day TV spot, SpongeBob is shown plugging his nose and airing himself while laughing with Patrick. Also, the background is brighter. The second version was used in the final film.
    • Another edit made in the second trailer is that fecal matter is visible in Gary's litter box in the first trailer, but in the second one, the image of feces is removed. The first version was used in the final film.
    • There's two versions of the scene where SpongeBob says to Patrick "Do I smell a road trip?!," the first one from the Big Game spot, the second one from the etalk exclusive sneak peek.
    • Also, the "buddy movie" and "sense of irony/ironing" sequence takes place in an open field with sand and rocks in the trailer, while in the final movie, it takes place in a kelp forest.
  • This is the only SpongeBob movie where the theme song does not play, if one does not count snippets from the song in "Agua."
  • When SpongeBob and Patrick enter Atlantic City, a large pyramid with a marked top can be seen. This may be a reference to the Cephalopod Lodge from the episode of the same name.
  • As of this film and onward, the Paramount Animation logo is now replaced with a CGI-animated one featuring a random character skipping stones. In addition, the Nickelodeon Movies logo is now a new one with SpongeBob turning on the logo, ditching both the one used on their only two Paramount Players movies.
  • SpongeBob says the word "crappy" during a scene with him and Patrick in the dungeon, making it a rare instance of SpongeBob saying an expletive.
    • This scene was cut in the Nickelodeon USA TV airing of the film due to the profanity used.[29]
  • As of this movie, SpongeBob is now the mascot of Nickelodeon Movies. All of the studio's following films now use the logo with him in it.
  • This is the only SpongeBob SquarePants movie to not feature the voices of Lori Alan, Carlos Alazraqui, Sirena Irwin, Thomas F. Wilson, or Stephen Hillenburg.
  • This is the first time Frank Weiss has worked on SpongeBob since "I Had an Accident" in 2003.
  • The title for this movie is the name of a mobile game based on The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, the previous SpongeBob SquarePants movie. There is also a book of the same name.
SB On The Run Netflix Icon

The scene with SpongeBoy in the picture frame.

The SpongeBob Movie Sponge on the Run 276

The original scene.

  • One of the Netflix icons for the movie has an image of SpongeBoy in a frame in a picture of SpongeBob crying although the picture in the original scene was an image of Kamp Koral.


Cultural references[]

  • The movie's previous title was It's a Wonderful Sponge, a parody of the Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life.
    • The movie's final title Sponge on the Run could be a parody of the song "Band on the Run" by Paul McCartney and Wings.
    • It could also be a parody of the song "Fox on the Run" by Sweet.
  • Atlantic City is based on the real Atlantic City in New Jersey and Las Vegas, which are both famous because of the casinos, hotels, attractions, and shops founded there.
  • The storyline of Plankton and Mr. Krabs' subplot has the same plot of Romeo and Juliet. Mr. Krabs takes on the Capulets' role and Plankton takes on the Montagues' role. There was a big feud for the two rivals, but during the climax, they redeemed themselves by deciding to end their rivalry with each other.
  • The dancing zombies during the Snoop Dogg musical number pay homage to Michael Jackson's Thriller music video.
  • Sage relates the Window of Meanwhile to a video on demand service.
    • He also explains that it doesn't function like Skype and FaceTime, two services that specialize in video communication.
  • While in Poseidon's palace, SpongeBob and Patrick crash into the Blue Fin Group, a parody of the musical group Blue Man Group.
  • The song that Kelpy G plays at the execution is the cover of My Heart Will Go On from the movie Titanic, performed by Kenny G.
  • The beginning of the song "Slow Ride" by Foghat plays when Otto drives with Plankton to SpongeBob's house.
  • The song that plays when Otto drives away when SpongeBob and Patrick try to get in the boat is "On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson.
  • The song that plays when Sage describes himself as the Dream Weaver is the self-titled song called "Dream Weaver" by Gary Wright.
  • The song that plays when SpongeBob and Patrick lose focus and have fun in the Lost City of Atlantic City is "Livin' la Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin. SpongeBob and Patrick sing along to it in some parts of the sequence.
  • When Squidward tries to walk in the armor while protecting from anchovy guards, he performs a spider-walk from the 1973 horror film The Exorcist.
  • The book The Little Griddle Who Could is a parody of the 1930 book The Little Engine That Could.
  • When Mr. Krabs finds out about SpongeBob and Patrick's upcoming execution on the news, he asks "Whatever happened to habeas swordfish"? Habeas swordfish is a play on words of a right known as "habeas corpus," in which a prisoner should be put on trial and for the court to make a decision in which the prisoner should be executed or not.
  • A building named "Chocolate" has an all-seeing eye, which is often mistakenly considered an Illuminati symbol.
  • The desert town SpongeBob and Patrick go to is similar to Rango (also movie of same name) goes to.

Errors[]

SpongeBob's missing holes error in The SpongeBob Movie Sponge on the Run
  • When SpongeBob and Patrick are walking out of SpongeBob's house laughing, SpongeBob is seen without any pores for a split second.
  • When SpongeBob and Patrick were in the prison, when SpongeBob blinked when laying on his side, eyelashes were still visible on one eye.
  • SpongeBob's hole pattern either shifts or has missing holes throughout the movie.
Visible eyelashes

SpongeBob's visible eyelashes in one eye.

  • Plankton's evil plan blueprint shows the number 3,084 but he says it's evil plan #3,087.
  • Sandy's flower switches from right to left at times.
  • During the scene where the characters are in the knight costume, several errors are there:
    • When the characters leave Squidward in the knight costume, it is not shown how they left or were kicked out.
      Characters mistake
    • SpongeBob is seen rotating Patrick to control the knight's sword, yet later he's there alone.
  • When Poseidon reveals his true self, he throws his jaw into Squidward's mouth. Later, it mysteriously appears.
Spongebob's belt error

SpongeBob's belt error.

  • When SpongeBob says "But, I just wanna find Gary and take him home," his belt is brown instead of black.


Merchandise[]

Book covers[]

Posters[]

Main[]

International[]

Other[]

Videos[]

Promos[]

Trailers[]

Clips[]

International[]

World Oceans Day[]

Merchandise[]

External links[]

References[]

  1. ^ Released internationally, United States and China are not included
  2. ^ https://www.mestovrchlabi.cz/assets/File.ashx?id_org=200233&id_dokumenty=1637
  3. ^ https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/677844426428645397/772741068415696896/unknown.png
  4. ^ https://www.facebook.com/Kurdcinama/posts/1068796990233310
  5. ^ https://www.instagram.com/p/CHmmhc_HYaH/
  6. ^ https://hypebeast.com/2019/6/snoop-dogg-jimmy-kimmel-live-lakers-nba-finals-video-interview
  7. ^ a b https://comicbook.com/movies/2019/06/12/awkwafina-reggie-watts-spongebob-movie-its-a-wonderful-sponge/
  8. ^ a b https://twitter.com/DailyNickNews/status/1194414903681048576
  9. ^ a b https://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/998241997780537344
  10. ^ https://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/1001468041786413056
  11. ^ https://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/782722699881689089
  12. ^ https://twitter.com/nickelodeon/status/1354851987209248780
  13. ^ https://deadline.com/2020/07/spongebob-sponge-on-the-run-foreign-rights-sold-to-netflix-1202986875/
  14. ^ https://variety.com/2020/film/news/netflix-acquires-spongebob-spong-on-the-run-international-viacom-1234707825/
  15. ^ https://www.mediaplaynews.com/netflix-acquires-foreign-spongebob-sponge-on-the-run-streaming-rights/
  16. ^ https://twitter.com/ParamountCanada/status/1288988083514482688
  17. ^ https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a34484315/spongebob-sponge-on-the-run-netflix-premiere-date/
  18. ^ https://www.tvlaint.com/2020/08/bob-esponja-al-rescate-ya-tiene-fecha.html?m=1
  19. ^ The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run | Deleted Scenes
  20. ^ http://filmmusicreporter.com/2021/04/02/hans-zimmers-steve-mazzaros-the-spongebob-movie-sponge-on-the-run-score-to-be-released/
  21. ^ https://twitter.com/paramountplus/status/1493707479275827200?cxt=HHwWgMCjybrC27opAAAA
  22. ^ https://twitter.com/spongebob/status/1493708961497088000?s=21
  23. ^ https://twitter.com/discussingfilm/status/1651644651055480832
  24. ^ NickALive!: Nickelodeon to Premiere 'The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run' in November 2022
  25. ^ Zap2it
  26. ^ https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/spongebob-movie-sponge-on-the-run-tim-hill-reggie-watts?utm_term=organic&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_ad&utm_source=twitter
  27. ^ https://flixpatrol.com/top10/netflix/world/2020-11-08
  28. ^ The Spongebob Movie: Sponge On The Run | BBFC
  29. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s5OvMd1ET0



Advertisement