The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run

2020 film directed by Tim Hill

SpongeBob SquarePants: Seasons: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 (Main) | Movies: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie / Sponge Out of Water / Sponge on the Run | Spin-offs: Kamp Koral (s1, s2) / The Patrick Star Show (s1, s2) | Specials: The Tidal Zone


The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (originally known as The SpongeBob Movie: It's a Wonderful Sponge) is a 2020/2021 American live-action/computer-animated adventure comedy film based on the animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. It is the first film in the franchise to be fully animated in stylized CGI rather than traditional 2D animation. The plot follows the origin of how SpongeBob met Gary the Snail, and SpongeBob's quest to rescue him after he is kidnapped. It was release on Paramount+ and video on demand on March 4, 2021.

Directed by Tim Hill. Produced by Ryan Harris. Screenplay by Tim Hill and Michael Kvamme.
A Huge Journey to Find a Tiny Friend.(taglines)

SpongeBob SquarePants edit

  • [first line, in the Nickelodeon Movies logo] I'm ready!
  • Aww, don't worry, Gar-bear. I'll be back before you can say "Why did he cruelly abandon me like that?"
  • [holding up a squeaky toy] Ooh, Gary, what's this? [Gary eats the toy. There's an awkward pause] Okay, that'll come out later.

Squidward Tentacles edit

  • [defending SpongeBob] Which is why, even though I can't stand SpongeBob, but at the same time...well, I love him. I love him...and I hate him! He's like, ice cream with salt on it! He's sweet, but super annoying. He's nice, and... nails-on-a-chalkboard annoying! Okay, fine, he's mostly super-freaking annoying! But...this little nattering noodge...is my friend. And he doesn't deserve to die.

Mr. Krabs edit

  • Nay, I could never harm the lad. His absence has taught me that much. And I'm not just talking about the money I'm losing with him gone. [Sandy and Squidward exchange skeptical looks] Okay, fifty percent talking about the money, fifty percent talking about I truly miss the boy.

Plankton edit

  • Oh nonsense, It's Krabs, Karen! I know it is. And tonight, I will finally, extract my revenge! [laughs evilly]

Sage edit

  • I'm made out of sage and I am the Sage, so it works out pretty well.
  • Seriously, it's hard enough being stuck in a tumbleweed... [SpongeBob: Patrick! We gotta find Gary!] ...but dealing with you two makes me want to light myself on fire.

Dialogue edit


[from a Superbowl TV spot]
Mr. Krabs: The commercials in this game are really expensive, SpongeBob.
Squidward: [scoffing] It's just the pre-game.
Mr. Krabs: You've got 26 seconds to tell me everything in this movie.
SpongeBob: [saluting] Sir, yes sir! There's fast cars, flashbacks, Snoop Dogg...
[A crowd of fish gasps]
SpongeBob: ... robots...
[SpongeBob rips his pants and gets excited]
SpongeBob: ... a wise sage...
Sage: Hello!
SpongeBob: ...churros...
SpongeBob and Patrick: [losing focus] Ohhh...
SpongeBob: ...the only thing missing is Gary.
[SpongeBob is screaming out in the open with lightning strikes in the background]
SpongeBob: GARY!
Patrick: Let's go find him!
SpongeBob: Do I smell a road trip?
Patrick: That could be my breath!
[The title appears and read by the commercial's narrator]
Mr. Krabs: Eh, that was money well spent!
[The Super Bowl spot ends]

Patrick: What's the next best thing to courage?
SpongeBob: Resolve?
Patrick: No.
SpongeBob: Fortitude?
Patrick: Nah.
SpongeBob: Commitment?
Patrick: Nope.
SpongeBob: Wherewithal?
Patrick: Mm-mm.
SpongeBob: Bravery?
Patrick: No.
SpongeBob: Valor.
Patrick: What?
SpongeBob: Grit?
Patrick: No.
SpongeBob: Heroism?
Patrick: Uh-uh.
SpongeBob': Gallantry?
Patrick: Nah.
SpongeBob: Moxie.
Patrick: A buddy. A wingman.

Patrick: This is gonna be like one of those buddy movies. We're the buddies!
SpongeBob: Not sure that really applies, Patrick, but...
Patrick: Why not? We're two dudes setting out with a common goal. We'll argue about something dumb, fight and break up, only to come back together when we realize neither could do it without the other. It's simple, yet magical.
SpongeBob Yeah. It feels more to me like the journey of a singular hero who against all odds, triumphs over adversity.
Patrick: [scoffing] I say buddy movie, and you say, oh, whatever that dumb thing you just said.
SpongeBob: Oh, really? Dumb thing? I'm dumb? [sarcastic] Oh, I love your sense of irony, Patrick.
Patrick: [ironing a sweater] Thank you. I love my sense of ironing, too. Maybe if your head wasn't packed full of sand, you could have ironing!
SpongeBob: [angrily] Well, better a head full of sand than a head full of rocks, like yours!
Patrick: [furiously tearing off the sweater] That's it! Stop the car! [grabs Otto]
SpongeBob: [grabbing Otto as well] Yeah! Stop the car, Otto!
[The boat screeches to a halt. SpongeBob and Patrick hurl through the air and land in a billboard. They pull themselves out and land on the ground]
SpongeBob: [chuckling ruefully] Sorry, Patrick. Really, I... I shouldn't have said you have rocks in your head.
Patrick: I shouldn't have said your brain was made of sand. That was mean, and dumb.
SpongeBob: Okay. Let's just forget it, huh?
Patrick: Never happened.

Sage: Beware, young seekers. All is distortion. If you aren't careful, the lost city will draw you into her fickle embrace, blind you with her dazzling distractions and tempt you with her fleeting games of chance. Whatever you do, don't be led astray, don't lose focus and don't forget why you came here.
SpongeBob: Don't forget. Good one.
Patrick: Thanks, Sage-meister. I think we got this.
SpongeBob: Yeah, Sage. I think you've been pretty good up until now, but I love Gary more than anything in the whoooooooooooolle world. And we came here to get him back.
Sage: Okay.
SpongeBob: I wouldn't worry about us losing any focus.
Sage: [full of dread] Oh, boy.

SpongeBob: Hey, Patrick!
Patrick: What's up, Spongey-Dawg?
SpongeBob: I lost all my money!
Patrick: Me too!

SpongeBob: Sage, buddy, could we please look into the Window of Meanwhile one more time to see where Gary is?
Sage: No. It's not an on-demand service. And especially not for people who pass out and sleep in their own vomit all night.
Patrick: [tasting his residue on the ground] It's not vomit. It's drool.

Patrick: Buck up, SpongeBob. It's not over yet.
SpongeBob: It sure feels over. And crappy.

[The gang peers out from a hiding place]
Mr. Krabs: Do you think we should have stayed in there with Squidward?
Patrick: Nah, he's got it.
[Clearly, Squidward has not got it. The octopus stumbles around inside the suit of armor]
Squidward: Where is everybody?!
Guard: Charge!
[The guards attack. Squidward staggers backwards into a pit of burning coals. The armor heats up. Squidward jumps up and clutches the armor's behind. The suit of armor slips on Patrick's food and falls out a window]
Patrick and Sandy: Squidward!
[The gang rush down a spiral staircase]
Sandy: We've got you! Hold on!
[As Squidward falls to the ground in the burning armor, the gang races outside with a trampoline to catch him. They dart this way and that with the trampoline. The armor crashes to the ground next to them]
Patrick: Man down.
[A chicken drumstick lands on the trampoline. A dazed Squidward emerges from the hole in the ground]
Squidward: [sarcastically] Good... catch.

Taglines edit

  • A Huge Journey to Find a Tiny Friend.
  • They're not in Bikini Bottom anymore.
  • This movie is going to be a total trip.

Cast edit

Live-action edit