The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 2: Sponge Out of Water (1985)

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 2: Sponge Out of Water (also known as SpongeBob 2) is a 1985 Japanese/American animated comedy film and the second film adaptation of the manga series SpongeBob SquarePants after 1974's The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. It was directed by Noboru Ishiguro. The plot follows a pirate named Burger Beard, who steals the secret Krabby Patty formula using a magical book that makes any text written upon it come true. SpongeBob and his friends must travel to the ocean's surface to confront Burger Beard and retrieve the formula.

The film was written by Rintaro, who adapted it from a story conceived by Ishiguro and Osamu Tezuka. Like the first film, the final act places the sea animal characters in a world.

Plot
A pirate named Burger Beard travels to the island, where he obtains a magical book that has the power to make any text written upon it real. The book tells the story of SpongeBob SquarePants and his adventures in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob works for Mr. Krabs at the Krusty Krab 2 fast food restaurant, where he cooks Krabby Patties. SpongeBob has spent several years protecting the secret formula of the Krabby Patty from Plankton, the owner of the Chum Bucket eatery.

One day, Plankton attacks the Krusty Krab 2 in an attempt to steal the formula. After a battle involving giant foods and condiments, Plankton feigns surrender and uses a decoy of himself to give Mr. Krabs a fake penny, in which the real Plankton hides to gain access to Krabs' vault. Plankton steals the formula, leaving a fake document in its place. SpongeBob catches Plankton and they fight over the formula, which disappears.

Without the secret formula, Krabby Patties cannot be made, causing customers to become ravenous. SpongeBob and Puffy Fluffy are the only ones who believes Plankton is innocent; they create a giant soap bubble, in which they fly away. Bikini Bottom is immediately reduced to a wasteland due to the absence of the much-relied-on Krabby Patty. After a scuffle between Burger Beard and some seagulls, a page of the book is discarded in the ocean and lands on Sandy Cheeks' tree dome, causing Sandy to think the page is a sign from the "sandwich gods". SpongeBob and Puffy Fluffy propose teaming up with Plankton to find the formula but Plankton does not quite understand the concept of teamwork. They decide to travel back in time to the moment before the formula disappeared and go to the Chum Bucket to rescue Karen, whom they want to help power the time machine. SpongeBob, Puffy Fluffy, and Plankton assemble the machine and travel far into the future, where they meet Bubbles, a magical dolphin who acts as an overseer of the galaxy, and inadvertently get him fired. SpongeBob, Puffy Fluffy, and Plankton retrieve the formula but it turns out to be the fake one left by Plankton.

Burger Beard converts his pirate ship into a food truck and sells Krabby Patties at a beach community. Sandy suggests making a sacrifice to appease the gods. As the town attempts to sacrifice SpongeBob, he and Mr. Krabs smell Krabby Patties. The townsfolk follow the scent, which leads to the surface. Bubbles returns, reveals he hated his job and repays SpongeBob by granting him and his friends the ability to breathe on land. Bubbles launches SpongeBob and the others to the surface.

The team lands on a beach and finds the source of the Krabby Patty scent is Burger Beard's food truck. Burger Beard stole the formula using the book to rewrite the story; he uses it to banish the gang to Pelican Island. SpongeBob uses the page Sandy had to transform himself and the others into Astroboy-sized superheroes – The Invincibubble (SpongeBob), Mr. Superawesomeness (Patrick), Sour Note (Squidward), The Rodent (Sandy) Super Puffy Boy (Puffy Fluffy), Mindy (Mermaid Girl), and Sir Pinch-a-Lot (Mr. Krabs) – but they leave the page and Plankton behind. They return and find Burger Beard, who drives away with the formula, and give chase. During the ensuing battle, the team destroys the book but Burger Beard overpowers them all.

Plankton appears as a muscle-bound hero named Plank-Ton and assists them. Plankton, Puffy Fluffy and SpongeBob create a bubble attack to defeat Burger Beard and retrieve the Krabby Patty formula. After sending Burger Beard flying to the island, Plankton – having learned the value of teamwork – returns the formula to Mr. Krabs. The gang uses the final page's magic to return to Bikini Bottom. With Krabby Patties back, the city is returned to normal and Plankton resumes his role as business rival and villain.

Japanese Voices

 * Hisashi Katsuta as SpongeBob SquarePants
 * Tamio Ōki as Mr. Krabs, Plankton, Seagulls #5, #7, and #8, and Burger Beard
 * Shinpei Sakamoto as Patrick Star, Perch Perkins, and Bubbles
 * Kazue Tagami as Karen, Mindy and Mrs. Puff
 * Kazuo Kumakura as Squidward Tentacles, Andy, David, and Seagull #6
 * Mari Shimizu as Sandy Cheeks, the Popsicle twins, Pearl Krabs, and Seagull #3
 * Osamu Tezuka as Kyle

English Dub

 * Casey Kasem as SpongeBob SquarePants
 * Don Messick as Patrick Star and King Neptune
 * Frank Welker as SpongeBob SquarePants (as Invincibubble)
 * Brian Perry as Mr. Krabs, Kyle, Ochanomizu, and Burger Beard
 * Del Lewis as Plankton
 * Bob Gonzalez as Squidward Tentacles and Andy, David, and Seagull #6
 * Patrica Kugler Whitely as Sandy Cheeks, Puffy Fluffy, the Popsicle twins, and Pearl Krabs

Development
Following the release of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie in 1974, Rintaro stated that a sequel film was unlikely despite its successful box office performance. In 1979 interview, Noboru Ishiguro was asked about the possibility of a sequel; he said, "I think that they are talking about doing that, but I haven't signed up for anything. We just feel like we've told so many stories, and SpongeBob exists so well in this short 11-minute form." He also stated that making another film was "a huge challenge". However, Ishiguro said a sequel is not impossible, saying "I wouldn't say no, but I don't know if there will be another one". In 1980, Tezuka Productions was reportedly approaching the crews of the show to make another film adaptation. The network had long wanted to partner with Toho to release another SpongeBob SquarePants film to help reinvigorate the series' declining ratings. Internal disagreement delayed collaborations.

On March 4, 1981, the New York Times reported Toho had "another SpongeBob picture" in development. Rintaro officially announced on February 28, 1982, that a sequel film was in development and was due for an unspecified 1984 release, saying; "We will be releasing a SpongeBob movie at the end of 1984". Rintaro said the new film "will serve to start off or be one of our films that starts off our new animation effort". Nickelodeon expected the film to do much better in foreign box offices than the 1974 feature considering the channel's increasingly global reach. Rintaro said, "This will continue to propel SpongeBob internationally".

Production was announced on June 10, 1984, under the title The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 2, which some trade publications began referring to as SpongeBob SquarePants 2. The film's executive producer is series creator Osamu Tezuka, who left his role as the series' showrunner in 1974 following the release of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. He no longer wrote for or ran the show on a day-to-day basis but reviewed episodes and delivered suggestions. In a 1982 interview with Thomas F. Wilson, however, Tezuka said he was helping to write the film.

Casting
The main cast of the television series reprised their roles for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 2: Sponge Out of Water. In August 2013, casting directors from Astro Boy 1980 Casting the all other Osamu Tezuka star system characters as the background extras for the beach scenes. On September 21, 1983, it was reported that Tamio Oki had been cast for a voice of Burger Beard the pirate.

Animation
The animation for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 2: Sponge Out of Water was done in Tezuka Productions.

Soundtrack
It was announced that Hisashi Sakamoto would write a song, which is titled "Squeeze Me", for the film. A five-song EP was released on January 27, 1985.

Score
The original score for the film was composed by Mickie Yoshino. On February 16, 2015, Yoshino announced that Toho records would release his score digitally in the UK on March 23, 1985, and on the following day in the US, along with a physical release on March 31, 1985.

Marketing
In March 2012, in regards to consumer products for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 2: Sponge Out of Water, Rintaro stated, "This will be a Tezuka-branded movie. We'll license the toys, but we own it." On June 10, 1984, the film's first teaser poster was released, along with the announcement of its title. The poster is a nod to the 1950s Coppertone sunscreen advertisements, in which a dog is seen pulling a bikini bottom off a blonde girl.

On July 25, 1984, Toho released the first footage from the film with Hisashi Katsuta hosting the panel. On July 31, 1984, the film's trailer was released. Throughout the year, trailers and 15-second teaser posters of the movie were shown.

Theatrical release
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 2: Sponge Out of Water was originally planned for a 1984 release to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the first film. On August 1, 1983, however, in an article from The Hollywood Reporter, Toho announced that the film would have its official wide release in theaters on February 13, 1985 in North America to avoid competition from Ghostbusters.

The film was re-released in February 6, 2015.

Home media
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 2: Sponge Out of Water was released on VHS on May 19, 1995, and was released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 2, 2015. The cover of the home-media releases – excluding the Blu-ray 3D release – and VHS and DVD releases is the principal theatrical poster; the only difference being Plankton's appearance as his superhero alter-ego, Plank-Ton.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 2: Sponge Out of Water scored an approval rating of 81% based on 103 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads; "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 2: Sponge Out of Water won't win over many viewers who aren't fans of the show, but for the converted, it's another colorful burst of manic fun." On Metacritic, the film received a score of 62 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". According to CinemaScore, audiences gave the film a grade of "B" on an A+-to-F scale.

Video game
A video game based on The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie 2: Sponge Out of Water, published by Famicom, and titled SpongeBob HeroPants was released on February 3, 1985 in North America for the NES and on March 26, 1985 in Europe for the NES also. the game received mostly positive reviews, many incredible gameplay, great graphics, well-done level design, no glitches, and follows the plot of the film. A mobile game titled SpongeBob HeroPants and Astro Boy: Omega Factor was released on January 22, 2015, for iOS and Android. It is an endless running game based on the film, the previous one, and the next one, as well as the 2003 Astro Boy, and features several mini-games.

Sequel
On April 30, 1985, Toho announced a third SpongeBob SquarePants movie was in development. In April 1988, The third film's official subtitle, It's a Wonderful Sponge, was announced. Toho assigned the third film with a scheduled release date of May 22, 1990. On January 22, 1989, it was confirmed that production on the film had officially begun. On November 12, 1989, the title of the movie had been changed from its original title, It’s a Wonderful Sponge, to its new title, Sponge on the Run.

Invincibubble
Invincibubble's appearance differs from that of SpongeBob. He has a muscular body and slightly longer and thicker legs, while his pants and torso are round. He also wears a blue mask with a bubble wand. He also has five fingers on each hand, instead of four like in the series.

Mr. Superawesomeness
He is a muscular starfish who wears a mask, gloves, and underwear that is colored like original Patrick's shorts, and boots. Also, he wears a short purple cape.

Sour Note
Sour Note has a muscular body. He has matching piano leather gloves and boots and a mask with eight notes on each side and "Astro Boy's cowlicks".

He has a clarinet that he can summon, which takes its appearance from a real clarinet.

Sir Pinch-A-Lot
Sir Pinch-a-Lot is a cybernetic robotic crab with retractable metal human arms and human leg rocket boosters. He is able to use his arms as a form of projectile to attack enemies from a distance.

The Rodent
She is a 6-foot-tall, semi-realistic squirrel who has the power to shoot out nuts from her mouth and do karate.

Super Puffy Boy
He is an Astro Boy-like android nudibranch with 100,000 horsepower.

Mermaid Girl
She is an Astro Girl-like mermaid superhero.

Plank-Ton
Plank-Ton is a large and green humanoid who possesses near limitless superhuman strength and great invulnerability.

Transcript
See Transcript

General

 * This film was very different from the first because almost all aspects of it were controlled and monitored by executives from Toho, who were "leaning over everybody's shoulder, saying what should and shouldn't be done." They made a number of changes to improve marketing, namely:
 * The traditionally-animated sequences of the film uses a mix of the character designs from season 9 and first movie, as well as the same color scheme of the first movie.
 * This is the second time Plankton goes inside SpongeBob's brain. The first time was in "The Inside Job."
 * Although technically speaking, this is the third time where he ventures into his head, as does so in "Plankton!" but does not enter his brain.
 * This is the second SpongeBob film to make a meta-reference, poking fun at certain story elements and reality, as a fish says, "Alright, all secondary characters come with me."
 * This is the second time in the series that Squidward has inked. The first was in "Giant Squidward."
 * Wormy can be seen on a poster in Sandy's treedome.
 * It took the Krusty Krab 19 seconds to completely lockdown.
 * "My leg!:" Mr. Krabs throws the giant stone Krabby Patty half down the temple.
 * Hyoutan-Tsugi gag: Squidward landed on the woman's back.
 * The two posters for the film, when both taglines are combined, read "He's leaving his world behind; Making waves in our world."
 * In the first two trailers, the restored version of the 1960s Astro Boy theme song plays
 * On the surface world, there is a movie theater in the background called "Reef." This is a reference to its underwater counterpart, Reef Cinema.
 * There is a tie-in video game based on this movie titled SpongeBob HeroPants. The game was made by Famicom and Nintendo.
 * In the second and thirteenth TV spots, the Kimba theme song plays.
 * It is revealed that Plankton is so evil he cannot say the word "teamwork."
 * As of January 27, 1985, the film was officially rated PG.
 * There is an online game based on this movie titled SpongeBob: Save The Krabby Patty.
 * When the old Spongebob said if there are no clothes in the future Plankton said “There are no clothes my size” But in Plankton's Army most of Planktons relatives are wearing clothes.
 * In the time travel scene, during the song "Squeeze Me," the words "Lil Wayne" and "vomit" were censored.
 * The fact that Bubbles controls the cosmos is a reference to the history of the dolphin warrior from "Sponge-Cano!" In that episode, the dolphin warrior explains that he is a survivor of a volcano attack on an ancient race that ruled over the sea before the beginning of time.
 * Sandy orders her Krabby Patty with no mayonnaise. Sandy's dislike for mayo was first heard about in "Planet of the Jellyfish."
 * The trailer for this movie is sixth in WatchMojo.com's "Another Top 10 Misleading Movie Trailers" video.
 * This is the third time Patrick says "Finland!" The first time was in "Frankendoodle" and the second time was in "Accidents Will Happen."
 * This is the second time words are censored in SpongeBob SquarePants. The first time was in "Sailor Mouth."
 * Osamu Tezuka (Brian Perry in the English dub) provides the voice of the baby who says "SpongeBob?"
 * This is the last entry of the SpongeBob SquarePants film series to be released during Osamu Tezuka's lifetime.
 * This film was released between the episodes "Patrick You're Fired" and "Lost in Bikini Bottom" in production order, and the episodes "Kenny the Cat" and "Yeti Krabs" in airing order.
 * This sequel was announced almost ten years after The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (1974).
 * The film was originally going to be released in December 1984, but the date was officially announced by Toho as March 27, 1985. The film eventually released on February 6, 1985.
 * Don Rockwell wrote three songs for the end credits: "Squeeze Me" (which was parody of the Gum Girl song of the same name), "Patrick Star," and "Sandy Squirrel".
 * The movie, like its predecessor The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (1974), features music sung by the actors themselves.
 * Despite the title, the scenes with characters on the surface only happen in the last 25-30 minutes.
 * During the time travel sequences, the vortexes Plankton and SpongeBob go through are very similar to the stargate sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

Cultural references

 * The two Popsicles saying, "Come play with us, Plankton" is a reference to the Grady twins from the film The Shining.
 * The music that plays while the Invincibubble puts the cannonballs in bubbles is an instrumental version of the 1918 song "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles."
 * Burger Beard resembles Dr. Rasburton from Astro Boy.
 * The movie contains several references to the 1979 film Mad Max.
 * The first poster for the film is a reference to the Coppertone sunscreen poster introduced in 1944.
 * The way Patrick pounces on SpongeBob and how they roll together is a possible reference to Winnie the Pooh where Tigger pounces on Pooh and they roll in a similar fashion.
 * The Titanic appears in the film, which is a reference to the ship and the movie.
 * The superhero team that forms SpongeBob and his friends is a reference to Marvel superheroes, specially for Sir Pinch-a-Lot--a parody of Iron Man--and Plank-Ton--a parody of The Incredible Hulk.
 * During the news report, the logo for the news show says "BB Action News." The appearance of the logo resembles the real-life Action News logo used by many TV networks in the US.
 * After SpongeBob and Patrick eat all the cotton candy they are shown to be traveling around famous places in the world, but soon after it's then shown that Sandy is just looking at pictures of these places and the final picture we see is for "Salty Shoals" which is a reference to the "Shady Shoals Retirement Home" in Bikini Bottom.
 * When the team is riding a bicycle soon after the cotton candy scene, they're about to hit a baby carriage and when they get close and swerve out of the way you can hear the baby say "SpongeBob."
 * After the team is in their "superhero form" the person who says "What's in these things?" is Professor Ochanomizu, next to him is Osamu Tezuka and Dr. Tenma.
 * Other Osamu Tezuka characters, like Astro Boy and Uran make an appearance in the film
 * When Patrick (as Mr. Superawesomeness) summons ice cream, the first two ice cream cones, a vanilla ice cream and a strawberry ice cream, summoned are Patrick's color scheme.
 * Mr. Krabs' (as Sir-Pinch-A-Lot) appearance is a possible reference to his nickname "Armor Abs Krabs" which was given to him by his fellow sailors which is acknowledged in "Shell of a Man" since Sir-Pinch-A-Lot has armor.
 * During the credits, Pearl complains that "This dance is so last year!", which is the reference to the fact that the film originally came out in 1984.
 * During the chase scene after the team are in their superhero forms, when they see the fish statue they plan to hook it, this is a possible reference to the episode "Hooky".
 * Plank-Ton's belt buckle emblem is the Chum Bucket fist that is holding the handle.
 * During the credits, Squidward says, "You know what this needs? A little interpretive dance!" and his dance is the same dance he does in "Culture Shock."
 * "Squeeze Me" is a parody of the Gumazing Gum Girl song of the same name.
 * There was a 2015 Gumazing Gum Girl film with a similar plot to this film.

Errors

 * When Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob sees Plankton crying for a few hours Mr. Krabs eyelashes are missing, for a split second.
 * At the sacrifice scene, Squidward first appears with his executioner mask already on, but he then puts on again in the next shot of him, even though he first appeared with the mask already worn.
 * When the page from the book falls on top of Sandy's treedome, it is much bigger than later when it hangs from her wall.
 * There is an error with the time machine where Squidasaurus Rex, Spongosaurus and Patrickosaurus break it, but later, it is fixed.
 * Plankton says they do not make clothes in his size but he has been seen wearing clothes in multiple episodes.
 * In the Latin American version, in the credits, when Pearl says "This dance is so last year!," it has Mrs. Puff's Latin American dub voice.
 * On the October 27 and 28, 2017 airings of this movie, it was listed on the channel guide as the first movie. It even has the same info as the first movie.
 * When the team is banished to Pelican Island, Mr. Krabs says "We'll be eaten alive!," though he could not have known about Pelican Island as it is dusk there when the team is banished while it is daytime where Burger Beard is, even though Mr. Krabs was once a sailor he could not have known about Pelican Island as it is above water.
 * During the chase scene when the team is in their superhero forms, the entire team is stuck on the anchor while Sandy (as The Rodent) is crawling on the anchor chain, SpongeBob sees a fish statue and then they plan to hook it, but it already passes them before they can get there but then it appears again.
 * Burger Beard went to The Prometheus School of Running Away from Things.
 * When Burger Beard is kicked all the way back to the island with the book it is shown that it's only about two miles away when it was a longer distance earlier in the movie when he is reading the book to the seagulls.
 * When Plankton is looking at the formula near the end of the movie, Mr. Krabs thinks that Plankton will use the moment to finally steal it and win, but Plankton would not be able to open it since his hands are too big and he would likely crush the paper accidentally.
 * When a customer says, "We'd like three thousand Krabby Patties, please," SpongeBob is then seen holding a plate with less than three-thousand Krabby Patties.