Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie

Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie
Promotional release poster
Directed by	Liza Johnson
Produced by	Robert Engleman
Screenplay by	Tom Stern Kaz
Story by	Kaz
Based on	SpongeBob SquarePants by Stephen Hillenburg
Starring	Carolyn Lawrence Tom Kenny Clancy Brown Bill Fagerbakke Mr. Lawrence Rodger Bumpass Ilia Isorelýs Paulino Matty Cardarople Wanda Sykes
Music by	Moniker
Cinematography	Greg Gardiner
Edited by	Template:Plain list
Studio	Nickelodeon Movies
Distributed by	Netflix
Running time	82 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Rating
Preceded by	The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run
Followed by	Plankton: The Movie

Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie is a 2024 American adventure comedy film based on the animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants, created by Stephen Hillenburg. It was directed by Liza Johnson and written by Tom Stern and Kaz, based on a story by Kaz. Combining CGI animation with live-action, the film stars the series' regular voice cast and includes new characters performed by Johnny Knoxville, Craig Robinson, Grey DeLisle, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino, Matty Cardarople, and Wanda Sykes. The plot follows Sandy and SpongeBob as they venture to Sandy's home state of Texas to save Bikini Bottom from the hands of an evil CEO. It is the first in a series of SpongeBob character spin-off films.

The film was first conceived during a pitching session for ideas for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2020). In March 2020, Paramount announced that it would be producing SpongeBob spin-off films for streaming television. In May 2021, a spin-off film featuring the character Sandy as its lead was announced, with Johnson, Kaz, and Stern all attached. Moniker composed the original score.

Prior to its release, the entire film was leaked on January 21, 2024, as a video upload on X. Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie was released on Netflix on August 2, 2024. It received mixed reviews from critics who criticized its storytelling, humor, animation and screenplay, but praised for its characters of the show. It is considered one of the weakest SpongeBob movie ever made.

Plot

Bikini Bottom, along with all its residents, is scooped out of the ocean by B.O.O.T.S. (Bureau Of Official Texas Science) Laboratory, the science lab Sandy Cheeks works for located in Galveston, Texas. Confused by what their motives could be, Sandy and SpongeBob SquarePants ride up to the surface to head to the lab so they can bring Bikini Bottom back to the ocean floor. Although they hitched a ride on an airplane, Sandy throws SpongeBob on her back, and they skillfully glided towards B.O.O.T.S. Lab, but they are blown severely off course by a tornado.

Back at the lab, the people of Bikini Bottom are terrified, to which Mr. Krabs heads outside to see what's going on. They are startled by the sight of a human woman, which turns out to be Phoebe, one of Sandy's closest colleagues at the lab alongside Kyle. The two discover that Sandy and SpongeBob were not captured, which angers Sue Nahmee, the new head of B.O.O.T.S. Laboratory, who demands that the two find them at once.

SpongeBob and Sandy get into a fight with a gang of rattlesnakes. Sandy fights them but is bitten by one of them, causing her to call for her family, revealed to be a traveling circus act, who defeat the rattlesnakes and agree to bring Sandy and SpongeBob to the lab. Back at B.O.O.T.S., Sue explains her plan, which is to genetically modify the people of Bikini Bottom into air breathers and then clone them in order to sell them as toy pets. To experiment, Kyle and Phoebe grab Mr. Krabs, Squidward, and Patrick to test the operative as well as how well children will like playing with them, which to the three is a torture-ridden nightmare where they are stretched, flung, and hit with spaghetti and chess pieces. Sue is pleased with the test results.

While Sandy's brother, Randy, is showing SpongeBob how to do the Cheeks family whistle, the family soon gets into a car chase with the police because Randy used the family van to illegally smuggle nuts. They are able to temporarily shake them off using the tornado from earlier, however, it proves futile. As a last resort, SpongeBob and Sandy are launched out of a cannon to the lab. Upon making it to the lab's water park, the two get into another chase with Cuda, Sue Nahmee's pet pug, who follows them into the sewers, but it works out and leads them into the lab. Sandy learns about Sue's plans and tries to attack, but Sue puts her in a cage with a hamster wheel while SpongeBob is placed on a roller coaster ride that will lead him into the cloning chamber. Sue explains her motives being that when she was a child, she always wanted to be able to cuddle with fish but never could due to fish dying when they're out of water. She then grabs the sides of her lab coat, her realistic rubber neck and gold necklace fly off from under her face, her lab coat flies off with her realistic rubber hands, so does her pants, to reveal herself to be a cyborg, and that she was using Sandy's life in Bikini Bottom to spy on everyone, which makes everyone feel betrayed. SpongeBob arrives in the cloning popper and is popped and turned into thousands of tiny versions of himself.

One of the tiny SpongeBobs tells Sandy not to feel bad and not to give up on saving Bikini Bottom. Sandy breaks out and has a final confrontation with Sue that ends with her rubber masked or human head being decapitated and her head being fed to her own pet fish, which makes her happy for she always wanted to be a fish. Mr. Krabs then discovers that mushing the tiny SpongeBobs together will return SpongeBob to his normal size, to which he, Squidward, and Patrick all work together to bring back SpongeBob. However while in the middle of things, the stand holding the giant glass orb holding Bikini Bottom collapses and the orb cracks, leading to water beginning to leak out. Sandy tries to call her family for help, but finds out she lost a tooth while fighting Sue. Having learned the whistle himself, SpongeBob loudly whistles and the Cheeks family arrives in time and help rig a mechanism to launch Bikini Bottom back into the ocean. With Bikini Bottom returned to its rightful position and glory, everyone celebrates by having the Cheeks family circus perform at the Krusty Krab.

Cast

• Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy Cheeks and others
• Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants, Gary the Snail and others
• Mr. Lawrence as Plankton, Larry the Lobster and others
• Mary Jo Catlett as Mrs. Puff
• Clancy Brown as Mr. Krabs and others
• Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick Star and others
• Rodger Bumpass as Squidward Tentacles and others
• Dee Bradley Baker as Video Voice, and others
• Christopher Hagen, Rio Alexander and Ryan Begay as Cowboys
• Ilia Isorelýs Paulino as Phoebe
• Matty Cardarople as Kyle
• Wanda Sykes as Sue Nahmee
  • Jamaria Davis as Young Sue Nahmee
• Jill Talley as Karen and various
• Craig Robinson as Pa Cheeks
• Grey DeLisle as Ma Cheeks, Granny Cheeks, Rowdy Cheeks, and Rosie Cheeks
• Johnny Knoxville as Randy Cheeks
• Kari Wahlgren as SeaPals Kid
• Miles Hall as Boy
• Jersey Johnston as Girl

Music

Moniker composed its original score. The film's soundtrack album was released by Lakeshore Records on August 2, 2024, the same day as the film. It features the Sandy Cheeks Theme based on the SpongeBob Squarepants theme, and performed by Tami Neilson. Additional original songs were written by Neilson, Linda Perry, Kaz, Jacques Brautbar, and Chantal Claret.

Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
No.	Title	Artist(s)	Length
1.	"Sandy Cheeks Theme"	Tami Neilson	1:41
2.	"My Name Is Sandy Cheeks"	Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie cast	2:06
3.	"The Amazing Flying Cheeks"	Linda Perry & Rhodes Gilbert-Perry	0:35
4.	"She Makes Waves"	Chantal Claret	3:11
5.	"This Squirrel’s Done Good"	Cast	1:41
6.	"Squidward Breathes"	Cast	1:50
7.	"Focus Group"	Moniker	1:05
8.	"Digger Claw Attack"	Moniker	2:35
9.	"Blast Off"	Moniker	1:31
10.	"Memories"	Moniker	2:38
11.	"Rattlesnakes"	Moniker	2:34

Release

Prior to its release, the entire film was leaked on January 21, 2024, as a video upload on X. Saving Bikini Bottom was released officially on Netflix on August 2, 2024.

Reception

Template:RT prose Catherine Bray of The Guardian gave the film a three out of five star rating. They commended its entertainment value and appeal to younger audiences and concluded, "For general viewers, it may not pack as much of an emotional punch, but like SpongeBob himself, it’s thoroughly absorbing." Tessa Smith of Mama’s Geeky praised the film for its humor, animation, and story and said, "Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie delivers the same type of jokes that SpongeBob SquarePants fans are used to, but it also tells a heartwarming story and allows viewers to finally meet Sandy and see where she comes from." Adam Graham of The Detroit News gave the film a C grade. They felt it retained the series' irreverent humour but in a way that did not connect and criticized it for being overly busy, undercooked, and "feeling like a knockoff rather than a spinoff". Barry Levitt of The Daily Beast largely disliked the film, citing its sidelining of main characters, underdeveloped new characters, lackluster animation and script. He said, "Sandy has always been a delightful if underappreciated part of Bikini Bottom, but the movie fails to give her the spotlight she rightfully deserves. Its initial promise is washed out by cheap jokes, an uninspired plot, and off-putting animation".

External links

• Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie at Netflix
• Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie at Rotten Tomatoes
• Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie at IMDb