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  • Accidental Innuendo:
  • Alternative Character Interpretation: Did the Siamese twins cave during the "baby hunt," or did they see SpongeBob and Patrick about to sing the Goofy Goober theme song and took the fall for them (in the PC version of the video game, they do help the duo out)?
  • Alternative Joke Interpretation: During the unveiling of the Krusty Krab 2, Mrs. Puff scoffs at how they paid nine dollars to attend the ceremony, only for Sandy to reveal she had to pay ten. While obviously a joke based on Mr. Krabs' greed, the meaning behind it has been interpreted differently. Some fans believe the gag is based on Mr. Krabs charging Sandy more due to his previously-shown disdain for land mammals, while others believe that he charged Mrs. Puff less because he still harbored feelings for her as shown in "Krusty Love".
  • Ass Pull:
  • Award Snub: Just like The Polar Express, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie failed to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, despite the far inferior Shark Tale managing to do so.
  • Awesome Art: While the show was already known for its Deranged Animation and use of mixed media, the movie uses the advantage of a bigger budget to make the animation much more fluid and have live-action blend far better than the TV show ever did. The result is easily the best-looking Nickelodeon TV show-based movie ever.
  • Catharsis Factor:
    • After witnessing Plankton enslave Bikini Bottom and order the deaths of SpongeBob and Patrick, it is nothing short of rewarding to see his plans quickly fall apart, him get stomped on by the Bikini Bottomites and later imprisoned for all he has done.
    • Also, the Cyclops getting the crap kicked out of him by his latest victims, especially considering he nearly succeeded in murdering SpongeBob and Patrick.
  • Crosses the Line Twice: King Neptune getting ready to execute an innocent Mr. Krabs is terrifying, but Plankton watching it like a sports fan and Krabs having a bullseye behind him makes it darkly funny.
  • Delusion Conclusion: One theory is that everything that happens after SpongeBob and Patrick notices the Shell City sign as they dry out under the lamp is a Dying Dream the two have.
  • Ensemble Dark Horse:
    • Princess Mindy is beloved by a good chunk of the fanbase for being an incredibly kind and proactive royal, who also happens to be "purty", as Patrick puts it. And being voiced by none other than Scarlett Johansson most certainly helps. Some wished for her to make an appearance in the show itself, but she couldn’t due to a firewall between Nickelodeon and Paramount, preventing characters and locations in the movie from being used (which is why Perch Perkins was orange instead of purple in the show). Fortunately, the firewall was broken in 2015, which resulted in stuff from the movie appearing and the fans’ yearning to see Mindy was eventually obliged when she made a voiceless cameo in the show's 20th anniversary special, "SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout".
    • Dennis, because he is a full-on badass mercenary who manages to be one of the franchise's most intimidating villains, and have his share of funny moments at the same time.
  • Evil Is Cool:
    • Dennis is the most frightening villain in the show thus far, which is why he has so many fans.
    • Plankton as well because he was able to single-handedly mind control everyone in Bikini Bottom and rule it as king.
  • Fanon: Fans like to believe that the puffer fish in Shell City is Mr. Puff, Mrs. Puff's missing, dead husband who appears as a lamp in the classic episode "Krusty Love" when Mr. Krabs asks SpongeBob about Mr. Puff's absence. Interestingly, both characters use the same prop.
  • Genius Bonus: The film is something of a loose adaptation of The Odyssey, of all things. The magical bag of winds is the most direct reference; in both stories, it's a gift intended to help the protagonists reach home quickly, and in both stories, it ends up being useless due to the carelessness and ignorance of its user. Aside from that, there's a cyclops (the diver), a siren (the Frogfish), and a helpful goddess (Mindy), and Neptune is a major antagonist.
  • Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Well, the Trope Namer is in this movie, so it is a given that the film would do well in Germany.
  • Harsher in Hindsight: Plankton mockingly calling Mr. Krabs "old buddy" as he steals the Krabby Patty formula becomes even more cruel after the later episode "Friend Or Foe" revealed that Krabs and Plankton were once best friends.
  • He Really Can Act: SpongeBob is known for being goofy and immature, but in this movie, Tom Kenny does an outstanding job at making the audience cry.
    • Especially during the gift shop scene. That scene is considered one of the saddest of the movie, especially with the Dark Reprise of Goofy Goober:
    • Not to mention that brief Heroic BSoD at the edge of the trench, where SpongeBob realizes how immature he is for his age. Hearing the guy sound so panicked and frustrated with himself is quite a shock.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight
    • SpongeBob and Patrick save themselves from the monsters in the trench by ham-boning. Rigby was right: ham-boning will save your life one day!
    • SpongeBob, a hero that people deride for being immature, saves everyone from the Big Bad's mind control using a Triumphant Reprise of a song used at the beginning of the movie. The Teen Titans would do something similar 14 years later.
  • Ho Yay:
  • Inferred Holocaust: Mindy's line, "Can't you get through one day without executing someone?", assuming she wasn't just exaggerating.
  • Jerkass Woobie: We all know that Squidward can be a real selfish jerk most of the time, but you can't help but feel sorry for him when he gets cornered and attacked by an army of Plankton's mind controlled slaves for trying to rat out Plankton to King Neptune.
  • Memetic Mutation: See this film's section on the show's meme page
  • Misaimed Fandom: A few fans believe that Squidward deserved the manager promotion over SpongeBob. While the fans are correct that Squidward is more mature than SpongeBob, they seem to forget the fact that Squidward has many faults himself that would make him a bad candidate for a managerial position. Squidward hates his job as a cashier, is always rude to the customers, sleeps on the job constantly, and is shown to be irresponsible. He even allowed Plankton to steal the Krabby Patty formula, something that SpongeBob wouldn’t have allowed to happen had he been chosen as the manager instead.
  • Moral Event Horizon: Plankton crosses this when he decides to set Plan Z in motion, which includes stealing Neptune's crown, framing Mr. Krabs for it (knowing very well that he'll be executed), hiring a hitman to brutally kill Spongebob and Patrick, and brainwashing/enslaving Bikini Bottom. For all of Plankton's previous stunts at villainy, none had him go as far as to try to have his rival killed.
  • Nausea Fuel: SpongeBob and Patrick binging on ice cream, the frogfish and its tongue, and the see-through monster that almost eats the main duo during their singing of "Now That We're Men."
  • Older Than They Think: The background music of "Now That We're Men" is an old college tune called "Fight! Fight! Fight! A", which has been used in the show prior to the film in Season 3's "The Great Snail Race".
  • One-Scene Wonder:
    • The Cyclops and the Frogfish only have a few minutes worth of screen time, but since their scenes were so nightmarish, it's hard to forget them after watching the film.
    • David Hasselhoff and his scenes are quite fondly remembered.
  • Parody Displacement:
    • Mostly the target audience, but many don't realize that "Goofy Goober Rock" is a parody of Twisted Sister's 80s classic "I Wanna Rock", nor would they recognize the random snippet of David Lee Roth's cover of "Just a Gigolo" he lip-syncs after the first verse.
    • The old college fight song, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" as the melody for "Now That We're Men" might fall under this, but the song was used as the title card music for the episode "The Great Snail Race".
  • Pop Culture Holiday: In a Black Comedy variant, March 14th is known as "the day that Krabs fries" due to it being the date that Neptune is set to execute Mr. Krabs should SpongeBob and Patrick fail to return his crown.
  • Signature Scene: Everyone remembers the scene when SpongeBob uses the Power of Rock to destroy the Bucket helmets and defeat Plankton. Also the scene preceding it where SpongeBob and Patrick ride on David Hasselhoff across the ocean.
  • Signature Song:
    • Although the movie has its own soundtrack worth of songs, most people only remember "Goofy Goober Rock" or "Now That We're Men". "Best Day Ever" is also popular, especially since it was reused for the series.
    • With the number of memes it spawned, "Ocean Man" from the credits also counts as this.
  • Squick: SpongeBob and Patrick taking turns in swallowing each other's gushing tears during their Heroic BSoD. Mindy's reaction perfectly mirrors how the audience feels about the situation.
  • Starboarding: This is the general stance concerning Patrick's crush on Princess Mindy. It's obvious Mindy doesn't feel romantic attraction to Patrick.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Although very well received by most, many fans were upset at the lack of other characters like Sandy, Mrs. Puff, Gary, etc. Even Squidward and Mr. Krabs do relatively little onscreen after their parts in moving the plot along has been fulfilled, with the former a mindless slave to Plankton and the latter frozen by Neptune. The next film to follow would thankfully avert this.
  • Values Dissonance: When Mr. Krabs tries to explain why SpongeBob was passed up for the managerial position, several members of the audience try to finish his statement by suggesting various insults; the last of these is "Knucklehead McSpazitron." Likewise, SpongeBob repeats the phrase as Self-Deprecation during his speech in the film's climax. While the word "spaz" was seen as a generic insult in the film's native US, to the point where it can be juxtaposed with "dork," "goofball," "ding-a-ling," and "wingnut" without issue, in the UK, it was already a hugely offensive ableist slur. Less than two decades later, growing awareness of mental health and illness would make the term much less palatable stateside as well, if perhaps not as severe.
  • Visual Effects of Awesome:
    • Between the beautifully deranged animation, great use of the Roger Rabbit Effect, and other special effects, this is one great looking movie.
    • The David Hasselhoff dummy used for some of the scenes when SpongeBob and Patrick are riding his back. It is so realistic that it is hard to tell at times when the real David is playing or the dummy is.
  • What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: Mind-controlled slaves, disturbing imagery, a few deaths, and a violent hitman. SpongeBob and Patrick also get drunk off of ice cream and wake up with hangovers...er, "ice cream headaches".
  • The Woobie: SpongeBob after he loses to Squidward in becoming manager of the Krusty Krab. Later on, he cries again when he thinks he and Patrick aren't manly enough to go through the monster-infested trench.
    SpongeBob: I'm ready... depression.

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