Why is that? Lots of animated kids’ films nowadays seem designed for short attention spans. At both screenings of the film I’ve attended, grade-schoolers in the audience have watched the entire thing in near silence-a welcome change of pace from the palpable (and typically audible) restlessness I encounter at most other children’s fare. It speaks to grade school children like few other recent movies I’ve seen. So it goes with Sponge Out of Water, a blatantly nonsensical feature that spins out ridiculous ideas with the giddiness and speed of a kid full of candy. It’s because the free-form storytelling and non sequitur jokes of Squarepants inspire comparisons with 60s countercultural humor, though a closer point of reference would seem to be the stories young children make up with each other. SpongeBob is hip, but not because he’s secretly designed for adults, like many of Jay Ward’s creations were. Guest stars on the SpongeBob Squarepants TV series have included Patton Oswalt, David Bowie, and Kristen Wiig. Images of the cartoon character became an unofficial sign of solidarity among Tahrir Square protesters in 2011, appearing on countless T-shirts and backpacks, and for several years now the Russian army and navy have sung the SpongeBob theme song in marching drills. Whereas Sniper and Grey divide audiences, SpongeBob is a great uniter. One reason might be that, unlike the others, The SpongeBob Movie is way more fun to watch than discuss. Sponge Out of Water happens to be a better film than Sniper or Grey, though it hasn’t received nearly as much critical attention as either. Clint Eastwood’s latest had been dethroned one weekend earlier, however, by another, more genial cultural phenomenon: SpongeBob SquarePants, whose second theatrical feature, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, drew in audiences to the tune of $50 million. It came not long after American Sniper-another R-rated movie that audiences seem to enjoy debating more than actually watching-sat atop America’s box office chart for about a month. This past weekend Fifty Shades of Grey opened to whopping commercial success, enjoying the most profitable opening weekend ever for an R-rated movie.
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