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The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run/production

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This is a production article for the SpongeBob SquarePants film, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, which aired on March 4, 2021.

Production

Development

In a February 2015, interview discussing the financial success of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, Megan Collison, president of worldwide distribution and marketing at Paramount, stated the possibility of a third film was "a good bet."[1] In another interview, Paramount vice-chairman Rob Moore remarked, "Hopefully, it won't take 10 years to make another film."[2] Later in 2015, in a tweet by Viacom, it was revealed that Paramount Pictures would be developing sequels to existing franchises such as World War Z, Jack Reacher, and a third SpongeBob Movie.[3]

On August 3, 2015, in a tweet by Vincent Waller, it was confirmed that the sequel is in pre-production,[4] and that Paul Tibbitt will be directing it.[5] It was later revealed that Tim Hill would be directing the movie[6] with Tibbitt leaving the project.[7] Waller suggested the release date of the film "should be in 2018" but may "land in 2017."[8] He also revealed that the crew working on the series would not necessarily be working on the movie.[9][10] This enables the series to be produced in tandem with the movie.[11]

In November 2015, Vincent Waller said on Twitter that both computer-generated (CG) animation and traditional 2D animation were taken into consideration when making this movie in the early stages of production.[12] Vincent Waller noted that CG is the expense.[13] CG was ultimately chosen as the animation for this movie years later in 2018.

Ruben Hickman helped out with preliminary developments of the movie, with the same group of producers being present - Cale Boyter, Mary Parent, and Craig Sost.[14] However, they only worked on earlier versions of the movie. Kristen Caplan was the production manager of the movie[15] before being replaced by Mark Fitzgerald and Gabrielle Miles Hill. Furthermore, Zeus Cervas was brought in to help with the movie storyboards.[16]

As of March 2017, animatics for an early version of the film were completed.[17]

On March 28, 2017, Yahoo! Movies reported on its Twitter feed that the movie had been given the placeholder title of The SpongeBob Movie and the release date had been pushed back to August 2, 2019.[18][19][20] On April 25, 2018, the movie received another title of The SpongeBob Movie: It's a Wonderful Sponge.[21]

In summer 2017, Paul Tibbitt stepped down the project following three years of pre-production and various pitches. This led to the crew working under Tibbitt being disbanded, causing the movie to being temporarily stuck in development hell. It wasn't until late 2017, when Tim Hill was brought in on the project after Karen Hillenburg called and asked him to work with Stephen Hillenburg on a new script for the film.[22] Tim Hill accepted and became the new director on the project shortly after, with a different crew working on it. Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger would also help with the story, making them the two only crew members to have worked under both Paul Tibbitt and Tim Hill's direction.

In early 2018, Andrew Overtoom, Head of Character Animation, and Rachel Tiep Daniels, made the SpongeBob model in Maya at Mikros Animation in Montreal based on early model sheets and episodes of the 1st season.[23] Tim Hill said that the CG was hard to get and sometimes the SpongeBob character model would get distorted.[24] Hill said that the plot of SpongeBob finding Gary in a movie is something that Hillenburg thought would be a good premise for a movie.[24]

Concept art for the movie was being developed by Perry Dixon Maple in March 2018. This includes the Camp Coral scenes of the movie.[25]

On October 23, 2018, the president of Paramount Animation revealed that the movie will have a "nice homage to the classic movie" with references to It's a Wonderful Life. The movie will also be an origin story detailing "how SpongeBob met the rest of the Bikini Bottom gang at summer camp." The opening sequence will take place at Camp Coral where all the characters first meet.[26]

It was announced that the movie was going to use full-CG characters and environments, with hybrid sequences in the real world. This animation will be completed by Mikros Image and the score will be completed by Hans Zimmer. Music from "big names" will also be included.[26]

On January 22, 2019, it was confirmed principal photography had begun.[27] Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Clancy Brown, Doug Lawrence, Jill Talley, Carolyn Lawrence, Mary Jo Catlett, and Lori Alan were signed on to reprise their roles.[28] Lori Alan's lines were recorded but were cut from the final version of the film.

Timeline

On February 2, 2019, the release date of the movie was moved forward to May 22, 2020.[29]

In June 2019, Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years, a spin-off relating to Sponge on the Run, was greenlit.[30]

On June 12, 2019, it was announced that Awkwafina and Reggie Watts will appear in guest voice roles. Cyndi Lauper, Rob Hyman, and Ali Dee will work on songs for the film. Ryan Harris will produce the film and Mia Michaels will act as its choreographer.[31]

At San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2019, an exclusive poster was revealed.

On November 12, 2019, the movie was renamed to The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run and the movie's poster was released.[32]

On November 14, 2019, the trailer was released in the United States.

On December 7, 2019, the sneak-peek was released.

On January 29, 2020, a Super Bowl LIV spot was released in the United States.

On April 2, 2020, the release date of the movie was reverted back to July 31, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[33]

On April 14, 2020, the release date of the movie was delayed to August 7, 2020.[34]

On May 2, 2020, a second sneak-peek for the film was released in the United States.

On June 8, 2020, a third sneak-peek for the film was released in Australia.

On June 22, 2020, it was announced that the film's theatrical release had been cancelled and it would instead go straight to digital with no release date set.[35][36]

On December 17, 2020, it was announced on the their official Twitter that the movie was planned to be released on February 2021, from a showcase of Holiday cards.[37]

On January 18, 2021, an exclusive look at this film was shown during Best Day Off Ever on Nickelodeon.

On January 28, 2021, it was announced on their official Facebook that the movie would be released on March 4, 2021 in the United States.

Art

Concept art by Perry Dixon Maple.[25]

Deleted storylines

"Atlantis" storyline

The "Atlantis" storyline is the first pitch made for the movie. It started development around September 2014[40], and was pitched as a hybrid live-action/animated movie by Stephen Hillenburg and Paul Tibbitt after the release of the second SpongeBob movie before being rejected by Paramount Pictures, fearing that the movie would underperform at the box office due to being set in Atlantis.[42] Another reason of the pitch being cancelled was also due that the "studio changed directors."[43]

According to two Reddit posts made in November 2019, the pitch would have been about Gary being kidnapped and taken to Atlantis in order to be cloned while SpongeBob would have to save him. King Neptune would have appeared in this movie and would have been played by David Bowie. A picture attached to the post showed the planned scenery for this movie.[44][45][46] A test shoot was realized by New Deal Studios during July and August 2015.[47][48]

Paul Tibbitt confirmed the existence of this pitch and added that the third act taking place in Atlantis would have featured human actors while the paintings were meant for live-action sets. He also clarified that David Bowie was never involved in this movie.[49]

Two pieces of concept art made by Jared Krichevsky[50][51] and revealed in October 2020, showcase the original design for King Neptune and his minions and that King Neptune would have originally being portrayed by actor Will Ferrell. More concept art were later revealed by Ruben Hickman.[52]

Art

"Space Cat" storyline

File:Aliencatposter.jpg
Concept poster for the "Space Cat" pitch.

The "Space Cat" storyline is the second pitch created by Paul Tibbitt [68][69] and Kyle McCulloch [70] and written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger. [71] Andrew Goodman later helped with the story in 2017.[72] Unlike the first pitch or the final version of the movie, this storyline is more "Science-fiction" inspired, and was described as a "SpongeBob movie in the mold of Independence Day."[73] This version started development around fall 2015 and was cancelled in July 2017.[74]

The main antagonists were an army of anthropomorphic cats wearing red mech-suits, led by a commander named Twinkles. The Space Cat army was comprised of many spaceships such as battlecruisers, troop carriers and spacecrafts named "Catsaucer." Their world was a polluted planet, composed of giant scratching posts and furniture such as an oversized piano. Some concept art also showcases a giant cat called "Galcatacus" (a parody on Marvel Comics' Galactus), an ancient god that can use his paws to destroy everything around him. He can be seen in a storyboard where he is lured by SpongeBob and Gary through a black hole and in a flashback scene where he destroys Gary's homeworld.

According to multiple concept art and storyboards made for this pitch, Gary was kidnapped by the cats bent on using him to free Galcatacus and turn Earth into a giant litter box, leading SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward and Sandy to rescue Gary and save Earth.[75] Throughout the story, they would have visited a futuristic-like world inhabited by dolphins. Storyboards showcase that at one point, SpongeBob and his friends were supposed to sneak into Bubbles' spaceship, guarded by dolphin soldiers. According to two storyboards, the group would also have returned to the surface. There, they would have met human versions of SpongeBob and Patrick during a fight with the cats.

Other concept art displays a flashback scene where Gary was the prince of a world inhabited by snails. During an attack by the cats and Galcatacus, Gary was evacuated through an escape pod thanks to his parents. During his escape, the capsule would have collided with the Galcatacus' collar, seemingly paralyzing him in the process. After escaping his homeworld, Gary's escape pod would eventually arrive on Earth before diving into the ocean near the Bikini Atoll island.

According to a few storyboards and an interview with Paul Tibbitt, two subplots were planned. One would have starred Nicolas Cage as himself, running for President of the United States (nicknamed "President Cage") because "he didn't get a part as president and his agents tells him no one would believe him as president."[73] Other characters planned to appear in this subplot were Nicolas Cage's pet tiger Fluffy, his unnamed assistant (portrayed by Jeff Goldblum) and an animal trainer named Terry. Although Nicolas Cage was first considered for the USA President role, he was later replaced by Dwayne Johnson (nicknamed "President Johnson" according to the copyright catalog description of Sponge on the Run.) before this version of the movie was eventually cancelled.[76][75]Some older storyboards however, still feature "President Cage."

The second subplot would have followed Mr. Krabs, disguised as SpongeBob, opening a "favor truck" where he sells favors and compliments to the Bikini Bottomites. According to a poster, David Hasselhoff was also planned to return in this movie.

When asked on Twitter about the storyboards, Vincent Waller wrote "I believe that was a first pass at the story, but the entire alien cat storyline was later tossed out and rewritten."[77] In an interview with Tim Hill about the movie, Tim Hill explains that "The studio had plans for a different version of the movie, but that one was scrapped. Steve was always a fan of grounded, relatable and simple stories. I think the previous script was a bit too far-fetched."[78]

According to Paul Tibbitt, there were many reasons as to why this story got cancelled. One of them being related to Donald Trump joining the 2016 United States presidential election and how it looked likely that a reality-tv star might become president.[79]

Art

"Snail" world
"Dolphin" world and Bubbles' spaceship
"Cat" world/Destroyed "Snail" world
Characters
Spacecrafts
Miscellaneous

Storyboards

"Greek underworld" storyline

Not much is known about this third scrapped storyline aside from the fact that it was the final pitch made by Paul Tibbitt and that it acted as a basis for the final plot of It's a Wonderful Sponge/Sponge on the Run.[81]

Three concept art made by Kristina Vardazaryan, showcase SpongeBob, Patrick and Squidward visiting a Hell-inspired place where a purple character named Mortius and a woman called Sarcoma live. Judging by the presence of a poster in the background saying "Thanatos" (Greek word for "Death") and the name "Sarcoma" deriviating from the Greek word "flesh." It is very possible that the location SpongeBob, Patrick and Squidward ended up to is the Greek underworld, suggesting that these concept art were intended for Paul Tibbitt's third and final pitch. This is reinforced by Paul Tibbitt's mistakenly referring to Mortius as "Poseidon", who's the ancient Greek god of the sea, and the main antagonist of the final version of the movie.[82] It seems the idea of the underworld will be reused for the following film Search for Squarepants.

Gallery

"Sandy" storyline

At one point, during the movie development, a "Sandy"-centric story was pitched by Marc Ceccarelli during a round table. The storyline was later reused and developed further for the spin-off film, Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie.[83]

References

  1. ↑ 'SpongeBob' Soaks Up $55 Million to Swamp 'Jupiter Ascending,' 'Seventh Son' at Box Office. TheWrap.com (February 8, 2015).
  2. ↑ Box Office: 'SpongeBob' Capsizes 'Jupiter Ascending,' 'Seventh Son' With $56M. The Hollywood Reporter (February 8, 2015).
  3. ↑ https://twitter.com/Viacom/status/593762894103375872
  4. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160113042307/https://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/628219039081324544
  5. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160116223151/https://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/629656529549918208
  6. ↑ http://comicbook.com/movies/2018/04/26/spongebob-movie-gets-title-release-date
  7. ↑ https://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/1035715255572127745
  8. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160113042205/https://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/631607842567405568
  9. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160208194514/https://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/631972276926197761
  10. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160208212345/https://twitter.com/NickelodeonTV/status/642460888017031168
  11. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220506184600/https://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/1005103166373761024
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  13. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160208214840/https://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/664553052167258112
  14. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160208194515/https://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/633289040721149952
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  28. ↑ https://comicbook.com/movies/2019/01/23/spongebob-squarepants-3-movie-release-date-production/
  29. ↑ 'The SpongeBob Movie' Moves To May 2020 For Paramount (February 2, 2019). Retrieved on March 28, 2019.
  30. ↑ https://deadline.com/2019/06/spongebob-squarepants-cg-animated-prequel-series-kamp-koral-greenlighted-nickelodeon-1202626441/
  31. ↑ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/paramount-plans-spice-girls-movie-as-part-newly-unveiled-animation-slate-1217519
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