Plankton Movie REVIEW
Despite not being as painful to watch as that Sandy movie, it is still a pretty mediocre entry in the SpongeBob franchise. This time, the film revolves around Plankton, who unknowingly causes his wife to rage quit and becomes a monster who ultimately takes over the world. Plankton must team up with SpongeBob to journey down memory lane and figure out what went wrong in his relationship.
This film’s biggest improvement is its development of the titular character instead of bombarding the audience with constant, unfunny jokes.
Plankton
Plankton is a selfish, greedy, and heartless little guy who is obsessed with the Krabby Patty formula. His obsession has consumed him for over 20 years and has led him to disregard the people around him. That is what caused Karen, his wife, to go rogue in the first place. We see his flaw and how it affects him throughout the story.
The film also develops Plankton’s relationships with other characters. Previously, with Sandy, all the film did was have her make jokes with certain characters. This time, at least we have a level of development with ups and downs, along with conflicts to drive the plot.
Dynamics
Plankton and Karen’s relationship is the heart of this film. One is too obsessed with an impossible task, while the other desires to be heard and seen by her lover. This is a great concept that opens the door for all sorts of conflict and theme exploration.
Plankton’s relationship with SpongeBob is also intriguing, with the two sworn enemies working together to help each other.
These relationships and dynamics are quite good, and at least there is a basis for them.
Jokes
I also enjoyed how the film takes its time with the jokes instead of dumping them everywhere. There are moments where we can breathe and learn about the characters. When the jokes arrive, they are actually funny and worth watching.
Flaws
Unfortunately, despite the vast improvement over the previous entry, Plankton the Movie still feels like a chore to sit through. It may not be painful to watch, but it is still a chore. It does the bare minimum with what it has and calls it a day. It feels lazy and effortless.
The only character dynamics present are those of Plankton and Karen. The film does a fair job of allowing us to care for them by having Karen successfully get the Chum Bucket into business, only for Plankton to get rid of it. This has some emotional impact, but the film does not do much else to develop or elaborate on it.
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The rest of the film has Plankton being hypnotized and uncovering what went wrong in his relationship through flashbacks. While that could have been a good idea, these flashback scenes do not advance Plankton’s character arc or have much plot relevance.
I understand that it was supposed to be a way to develop Plankton and help him discover the errors of his ways, but after each flashback, he makes a brief remark and moves on. This makes the flashback moments feel tedious instead of enriching the character.
Side Characters
I also thought many characters here were not utilized well, nor did they develop as individuals.
SpongeBob is merely present because this is a SpongeBob film. He plays the therapist role and wants to be a friend, but beyond that, he is just there for the jokes. Mr. Krabs is also there due to franchise obligations. There are these gal pal characters who assist the plot.
The only side character who gets some development is Karen. She has a whole character arc and plotline. With most scenes lacking purpose or contributing to the main plot, it is hard to enjoy the film without feeling like it is a chore.
Conclusion
A Plankton movie may not be painful to watch, but it is troublesome and not something anyone wants to see. Since the next SpongeBob movie is a theatrical release, hopefully, the team puts in some effort into making it instead of just creating lazy content for the SpongeBob IP to run on.
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Plankton: The Movie is now streaming on Netflix
