"The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run" voice actors Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick Star), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick Star), Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy) and Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs), Reggie Watts (Chancellor) and writer/director Tim Hill discuss their upcoming SpongeBob movie with CinemaBlend's Jeff McCobb. They chat about their favorite 'Spongebob' songs, how they nabbed Keanu Reeves and Snoop Dogg for the film, why adults still love SpongeBob and more.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00 ♪ Worst day ever ♪
00:01 ♪ The ocean's no place for a squirrel ♪
00:04 ♪ Bow, dow, dow ♪
00:05 (indistinct)
00:08 ♪ Carrie's been snail-mapped ♪
00:10 ♪ We've gotta go help them ♪
00:12 ♪ Yeehaw ♪
00:14 (screaming)
00:16 (upbeat music)
00:19 - I'm 31 years old, I'm a millennial,
00:20 I grew up on SpongeBob,
00:22 and when I say what interviews I'm doing,
00:25 my friends get most excited about SpongeBob.
00:29 I'm wondering what it is about this character
00:32 and this show that still appeals to full-grown adults
00:36 and spans across generations.
00:38 We can start with Carolyn.
00:39 - I think it's happiness, I think it's great themes,
00:43 I think our writers are phenomenal, I think it's humor.
00:47 It's just a good, fun time.
00:49 - I second that, and I would add
00:51 that it's all about shapes and colors.
00:54 Good shapes and bright colors.
00:57 It's like a slot machine.
00:59 Bill? - Yeah, baby.
01:00 - Just hit it!
01:01 - Clancy's hit right on it.
01:03 There's a strange alchemy at work, you know,
01:06 and it's a formula that no one can ever know.
01:10 Certainly many studios have chased it.
01:12 - And you're taking the secret formula.
01:14 (laughing)
01:16 - Ravioli, ravioli, give me the formuoli.
01:20 - And the secret ingredient, of course,
01:22 is the character of SpongeBob,
01:23 and the world that Hillenburg created,
01:25 it created an entire world
01:28 that everyone in the world recognizes.
01:32 - It's a utopia.
01:33 - You know, it really is just classic comedy.
01:35 I mean, there's really no,
01:37 there's not a whole lot of snark.
01:38 And the comedy comes from the characters,
01:41 and it's, you know, surreal,
01:42 but it's also quite real in its own weird way.
01:45 Like, the characters are always very true to themselves,
01:47 and the universe kinda has its own rules.
01:51 And, you know, in a way,
01:53 I think there's a comfort food factor, too,
01:55 with people your age, Jeff, that, you know,
01:57 I mean, if you're 31,
01:58 you were probably in fourth grade or something
02:00 when the show came out, you know, fourth, fifth grade.
02:02 And so now, here you are, 30 years old,
02:06 or 31 years old, during like a global pandemic,
02:09 and you're going, "I need stuff
02:11 "that's just kinda sweet and funny and stupid
02:14 "and makes me laugh.
02:15 "I don't want anything deep.
02:16 "I don't wanna watch anything about,
02:17 "I don't wanna watch a 10-part documentary
02:19 "about serial killers.
02:21 "You know, I don't wanna watch Chernobyl miniseries.
02:25 "I just wanna watch a sponge and a squid."
02:28 - Do not think you are old, Jeff, 31.
02:30 That's the same age as those french fries
02:33 under my car seat right now.
02:35 There is no age limit for this show.
02:38 You will love this until you're pulling Social Security.
02:42 - It's got a universality to it, which is,
02:45 and it's, by the way, worldwide.
02:46 It's just a goofy character who's really positive
02:48 and really innocent.
02:50 He's in no way mean, you know?
02:51 He's just a very positive person.
02:54 For me, anyway, and he makes me laugh, so.
02:57 It's important.
02:58 And, you know, it's just funny, that's all.
03:02 - He makes us all laugh.
03:04 - You know, starting in the '90s,
03:06 it embodied this kind of chaotic,
03:11 kind of kitsch vibe that was
03:15 kinda more on the underground scene, I guess,
03:18 like when I was in Seattle in the '90s.
03:20 So it had that spirit of kind of like
03:23 a DIY underground vibe.
03:25 And I think that's what grabbed a lot of my younger friends
03:29 as young people, but also as a person in my 20s at the time.
03:33 I hate to use the word like alternative or whatever,
03:35 but it appeals to people who are on the underground
03:37 and also people in the mainstream.
03:39 It really kind of hits everything at once.
03:42 It was just a treat to work on something
03:44 that is fast, creative, and kinda gonzo.
03:48 It's great.
03:49 - This is gonna be like one of those buddy movies.
03:52 (laughing)
03:55 - I'm curious about, this show has so much positive
03:59 and frenetic energy.
04:01 What is it like on those days when you come into the booth
04:04 and you're just not feeling it?
04:07 Something's going wrong in your life,
04:08 you're not in the best mood.
04:09 How do you embody that?
04:10 And is it difficult to have to make that transition?
04:14 - This is our security blanket.
04:15 This is when we come in and do what we're professional about
04:18 and this is what keeps us sane, is doing the characters.
04:23 So you can come in feeling really, really cruddy,
04:26 but you start doing it
04:27 and all that stuff is washed away instantly.
04:30 - Yeah, I gotta say, Jeff, that really is true.
04:34 I mean, it sounds corny and phony,
04:36 but you can be having the worst day,
04:40 the worst day ever, and you come in
04:43 and just being in SpongeBob's world
04:46 and being him, assuming that mantle
04:51 and then acting with these other guys.
04:53 Even, we usually used to be all in the same room together
04:57 and now it's all on Zoom,
04:58 but it's still seeing these guys a few times a week,
05:02 couple of times a week,
05:03 is still by far the high point of my week
05:05 and doing that deep dive into Bikini Bottom.
05:08 It's a restorative.
05:09 It's kind of like the tank in "Altered States."
05:12 You just kinda climb in
05:15 and it's great.
05:18 And then of course, when it ends,
05:20 you have to walk out of the studio
05:22 and get hit in the face with the real world.
05:24 But that time that you spent in Bikini Bottom
05:27 helps you get through all that.
05:29 And that's for real.
05:30 - It's therapy.
05:31 Absolute therapy. - Therapy.
05:32 - I saved a lot of money on psychiatry fees.
05:35 (laughing)
05:36 - I think what's so amazing is that
05:38 a lot of cast say they get along and it's not true,
05:41 but we really do.
05:42 So when I have days like that
05:44 and I can walk into the booth and see my friends
05:46 and we can all start playing,
05:48 that stuff just dissipates.
05:50 It just floats right away.
05:53 - You know, when you have those days,
05:55 we wish we would have a session together.
05:58 You know, we look forward to it that way.
06:00 That's because, Carolyn's right, it is.
06:03 It's the antidote.
06:05 There's absolutely nothing better
06:07 than walking in the booth with these knuckleheads
06:10 and recording.
06:11 - I often consider our sessions as therapy.
06:16 Oh my God, I miss our sessions so bad together
06:19 because, you know. - Me too.
06:20 I might have to start taking meds now
06:22 'cause we're not all,
06:24 the gang's all here.
06:26 - Tim, did you write the likes of Keanu Reeves
06:31 and Snoop Dogg into the script?
06:34 Or was it just like celebrity placeholder here
06:37 and then you kind of find who you can get?
06:39 - Actually, no, Keanu was on my mind
06:43 when I wrote the Sage character.
06:45 - I'm made out of Sage and I am a Sage.
06:47 So it works out pretty well.
06:49 - And I just, and then we started basically storyboarding
06:52 with a Keanu drawing and a photo of him.
06:56 So we were building a lot of momentum
06:58 and we were lucky that he agreed.
07:00 So, and for Snoop, I don't know,
07:05 like we really wanted that, like a cowboy gambler rapper.
07:10 And it was the only, you know what I mean?
07:12 It was the only thing, it was like, it has to be him, right?
07:15 So it was so cool that everyone said, yeah, I'll do that.
07:20 That was really exciting for me.
07:22 - My favorite part of the show, I think,
07:24 is there's so many original musical numbers
07:26 that are deeply embedded in my brain.
07:28 I was wondering if you have a favorite musical number
07:35 throughout SpongeBob's entire run.
07:37 We can start with Carolyn again.
07:38 - Wish I was back in Texas.
07:41 The ocean's no place for a squirrel.
07:43 - If I could come back in life, another lifetime,
07:48 I'd want to be a rock and roll star.
07:50 And I did not get that gift this time around.
07:53 So it's so fun when they let me sing
07:54 'cause a squirrel doesn't have to be good.
07:56 - Well, that was beautiful.
07:59 - For me, it's hard to beat the campfire song
08:02 and the way Tom does it.
08:03 ♪ C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song ♪
08:06 - And Patrick gets to be a complete buffoon
08:10 and just try to, "It's C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G!"
08:13 You know, just trying to keep up with his own playing.
08:16 And we had so much fun when we recorded that.
08:20 And every time I see that, it makes me laugh.
08:22 ♪ C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song ♪
08:24 ♪ Patrick! ♪
08:25 ♪ Sold C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G! ♪
08:27 ♪ Squidward! ♪
08:28 ♪ Good! ♪
08:29 - That is such a solid choice.
08:33 - Yeah, fun is good too.
08:34 Fun is like-
08:35 - Oh, fun's a classic.
08:37 - That's your fire that burns down the whole town!
08:39 You use for your iridium bomb.
08:42 ♪ And it's for no survivors! ♪
08:45 (laughing)
08:47 - My favorite isn't even like a real song.
08:49 It's just stepping on the beach,
08:50 (imitates beat)
08:51 Like,
08:52 ♪ Stepping on the beach, boo, boo, boo, boo! ♪
08:53 (laughing)
08:55 - It's always in my head.
08:56 - Oh my gosh, I want that as a ringtone, Jeff.
08:58 That'd be so fun!
09:00 - All right.
09:00 (laughing)
09:01 - Best gig in the world.
09:03 I'm a big fan of y'all.
09:05 Thank you for the time.
09:05 - Patrick, what are you doing?
09:07 - Free food!
09:08 (screaming)
09:10 - My kids keep knocking on the door.
09:17 I'm so sorry!
09:18 (laughing)
09:19 And they're gonna be pounding in the background.
09:20 - Congratulations on solving your Rubik's cube.
09:23 - Oh, thank you.
09:24 There's three of them.
09:25 I did that for you.
09:26 - You're smart.
09:27 - Did you do it backwards?
09:28 - I did not.
09:29 (laughing)
09:31 No, I did it one-handed without looking.
09:33 - My daughter brought me lunch, you guys,
09:34 so that's what that was about, so.
09:36 - Aw, very sweet.