The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run

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The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run

PG

2020

1h 31m

Kids & Family

Comedy

Adventure

Animation

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Popcornmeter

66%

Tomatometer

74 Reviews

48%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

In the first-ever all CGI SpongeBob motion picture event, THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE ON THE RUN, SpongeBob SquarePants, his best friend Patrick, and the Bikini Bottom gang star in their most epic adventure movie yet! When SpongeBob's beloved pet snail Gary goes missing, a path of clues leads SpongeBob and Patrick to the powerful King Poseidon, who has Gary held captive in the Lost City of Atlantic City. On their mission to save Gary, SpongeBob and his pals team up for a heroic and hilarious journey where they discover nothing is stronger than the power of friendship.

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Critics Consensus

Although its story may leave fans on the surface, The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run is a wondrously wacky visit to Bikini Bottom that retains the charm of the original series.

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Audience Says

The animation is fine, but The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run feels more like a long episode of the show than a real cinematic experience.

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Chris Stuckmann

ChrisStuckmann.com

Unfortunately, the film didn't feel like it really had a story. It felt like a series of sketches, and most of them weren't very funny.

Rated: C+

Mar 20, 2021

Full Review

Kristy Puchko

IGN Movies

Though not as joltingly outrageous as its predecessors, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run is a winsomely wacky good time, alive with laughs and light-hearted lunacy.

Mar 15, 2021

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Adam Graham

Detroit News

There's nothing stiff or self-serious about "Sponge on the Run," which plays equally to young children and college stoners alike.

Rated: B

Mar 6, 2021

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Shakyl Lambert

CGMagazine

This is the first Spongebob movie to make a full shift to CG animation, and it’s honestly all the lesser for it. The whole movie feels oddly restrained because of the animation switch.

Rated: 5.5/10

Jul 12, 2024

Full Review

Mat Brunet

AniMat's Review (YouTube)

Among all of the SpongeBob movies, Sponge on the Run is easily the weakest of the three.

Rated: 6/10

Feb 16, 2022

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Witney Seibold

Critically Acclaimed Podcast

I always welcome a hit of SpongeBob's particular brand of candy-coated insanity.

Sep 14, 2021

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Tim M

While the feature absorbs the cartoon's effervescent humor, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run's shift in animation style distances it from the original charm.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/14/25

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Alexplayz305 E

The SpongeBob Movie 3 definitely isn’t the best one when it comes to many things, like the Story. the Story felt like a long episode. But it actually is based off the special were SpongeBob loser Gary to an Old lady who liked eating snails. The animation is thought the best out of any other SB movie, it’s so beautifully polished and animation, you can even see the water effects. I though heard someone say it was trash (damn them) The story is fine, and the animation is the best, but one thing is the Filler. I get without the filler it may have been a 1H movie, but it felt unnecessary, like the brain full of rock and sand, as well as the song just to show Snoop Dog in the movie. Overall this movie is at least a 9/10. In words “A underrated film that hap much more potential on the big screen”

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/12/25

Full Review

Julian M

What happened here? I feel like everything just went away this was definitely the biggest downfall I’ve ever seen, and it hasn’t gotten much better this was the same issue I also had with the sandy cheeks movie released I think by far this is the worst SpongeBob movie yes, I’m thinking of a movie worse than the sandy cheeks movie. I know really hard to think of for someone who doesn’t watch too many movies I feel like the same thing is gonna start happening to anything else Nickelodeon makes Nickelodeon should have its own rotten tomatoes page just to show you what people really think of Nickelodeon not just it shows but the thing itself it shows freedom. It shows the freedom of everything and it leads to things. Nickelodeon probably won’t take that because it destroys whatever image they think they have so what do I think this movie shouldn’t have existed and it should have just ended at the first movie without any more episodes or the second movie without any more episodes.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/10/25

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Aiden K

I never thought it was bad until now 4.9/10

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/26/25

Full Review

Xavier L

A good movie that's all I have to say

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/09/25

Full Review

Bubble B

Carrot is not old okay

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/05/25

Full Review

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Tim Hill

Director

Tom Kenny

SpongeBob

Awkwafina

Otto

Clancy Brown

Mr. Krabs

Rodger Bumpass

Squidward

Bill Fagerbakke

Patrick

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run: Official Clip - Plankton's Robbery

2:54

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run: Official Clip - The Suit of Armor Fight

2:49

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run: Official Clip - How We Do

2:54

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run: Official Clip - The Sage's Window of Meanwhile

1:57

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run: Official Clip - Secret to the Formula

2:05

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run: Official Clip - The Gameshow Trial

2:52

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run: Official Clip - Rescuing Gary

3:00

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run: Official Clip - Plankton Kidnaps Gary

3:00

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run: Official Clip - El Diablo

2:51

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run: Official Clip - Losing the Challenge Coin

2:59

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The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run: Trailer 2

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The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run: Super Bowl TV Spot

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The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

In the first-ever all CGI SpongeBob motion picture event, THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE ON THE RUN, SpongeBob SquarePants, his best friend Patrick, and the Bikini Bottom gang star in their most epic adventure movie yet! When SpongeBob's beloved pet snail Gary goes missing, a path of clues leads SpongeBob and Patrick to the powerful King Poseidon, who has Gary held captive in the Lost City of Atlantic City. On their mission to save Gary, SpongeBob and his pals team up for a heroic and hilarious journey where they discover nothing is stronger than the power of friendship.

Director: Tim Hill
Producer: Ryan Harris
Screenwriter: Tim Hill
Production Co: Netflix, United Plankton Pictures, Paramount Animation, Media Rights Capital (MRC), Nickelodeon Movies, Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Rating: PG (Rude Humor|Mild Language|Some Thematic Elements)
Genre: Kids & Family, Comedy, Adventure, Animation
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 4, 2021
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.5M
Runtime: 1h 31m
Sound Mix: DTS, Dolby Digital, Dolby Atmos
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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