March 1st, 2021 
Jackson Murphy 
Alvin and the Chipmunks, Hop and The War with Grandpa director Tim Hill’s latest film is finally making waves in the U.S. Following a theatrical run in Canada last summer and a Netflix debut overseas in the fall, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run is premiering in the U.S. this Thursday March 4th on Digital platforms and the new Paramount+ streaming service.
This is the third feature film starring Nickelodeon’s iconic sponge, who leaves Bikini Bottom with pal Patrick to look for pet snail Gary. It’s a storyline that was first highlighted on a 2005 episode of SpongeBob SquarePants (“Where’s Gary?”) But according to Hill, it’s one that always stuck with the show’s late creator, Stephen Hillenburg. Hill talks about his time with Hillenburg, as well as the major influence of a classic holiday movie on Sponge On The Run.
Jackson Murphy: The legacy of this franchise is so incredible, and you’ve been involved in it, on and off, over the past 25 years. What were your initial goals for this third movie?
Tim Hill: Well, make a funny movie. I think that’s sort of always been how we started the show. Whatever made us laugh. We never tried to make it for kids. It was just kind of Steve Hillenburg’s brain, and I was glad to get in there and help him develop it. It was always whatever we liked, and so I tried to keep that as an ethos. A goal. It’s fun, it’s funny, it’s silly, it’s stupid, it’s emotional, it’s action, it’s a lot of physical comedy, it’s a road trip. The driving story. All those elements kind of come second after you want to keep it within the SpongeBob. But then going CG and all these other things happening…
Tim Hill: [The] story was bigger when we started. It was like a 120-page script. So I had to widdle that thing down. There were a lot of songs in it. Originally it was a pretty ambitious musical extravaganza. But songs are the first things to go. Just for story and brevity and playability, I think we made the right choices. There’s still some really fun songs in it. You have your big ambitions and then you meet reality and go, “Oh. It’s too long.”
JM: Wow. There’s so much there that I want to bounce off of, Tim. You’re right in that there are still some terrific songs in the movie, including one towards the end. And you have this big, surreal sequence with Snoop Dogg and some others that you kept in. Those live-action elements embody what SpongeBob is all about, which is surrealism. How was it for you with the live-action?
TH: It’s kind of my jam: doing the live-action and having animated characters in there and having actors react to them when they’re really just looking at a piece of wood. You try to make it real for everybody. I really like doing that. It takes a lot of visualization and planning. And I had some of my old crew from my other movies who’ve done it before, so it made it a little easier. And then great actors to work with. Really fun. Danny Trejo and his great tacos.
JM: Yeah! With the restaurant!
TH: Yeah, it was really enjoyable. We had a really good time shooting that.
JM: And Keanu Reeves is hilarious too as Sage. You also directed Alvin and the Chipmunks and Hop, so yes, you’re well known for the live-action/animation combo. And speaking of songs, the soundtrack in this is so fun because you incorporate some iconic songs: “My Heart Will Go On”, “Take On Me”, “Livin’ La Vida Loca”. Did you really have free reign with the budget to choose what songs you wanted?
TH: No one ever said “No” in terms of money. The collaboration was to find the best music and we have a great music supervisor. “La Vida Loca” just came out of a “crazy time in Las Vegas” vibe. SpongeBob and Patrick going wild in a casino world and losing their focus and getting lost in it.
JM: So vivacious. Them going to the casino and losing focus AND losing money and enjoying themselves is so entertaining. And that whole Lost City of Atlantic City is so detailed. It’s amazing. How difficult was it designing that?
TH: We had great people working on it. I just remember Atlantic City as being the stepsister of Las Vegas with all the thematic stuff. I thought it was a perfect world for SpongeBob with Goofy Goobers and themed restaurants and casinos. We wanted to build it up pretty big because it is the sea of power for the king. Fun avenues. There were a lot of cool designs that we couldn’t quite get in there. We saw some funny electric carts from the ’50s on the boardwalk of Atlantic City with people driving around in them. We made funny SpongeBob versions of that. I wanted to use more but the movie got a little long, so not all of it got in, but enough to make it really powerful and colorful and a really cool set. I’d love to do more in that set. There’s so much there. Ferris wheels.
JM: Yeah. All the colors. I would love to see maybe a return there at some point. I remember when the title of this movie was going to be “It’s a Wonderful Sponge”. And as I’m watching the third act of “Sponge on the Run”, there’s a very well done, emotional scene involving many of the main characters up on a stage talking about SpongeBob. And I feel like that embodies that “It’s a Wonderful Life” feel. How much of that “It’s a Wonderful Life” concept, besides that sequence, made it into the final product of the movie?
TH: That theme is still there, and I think it’s pretty strong. The idea of someone who… At the end of “Wonderful Life” everyone chips in and replaces the money that Uncle Billy lost. And they do it for Jimmy Stewart’s character because they love him and they’ve always been there for him. And that’s sort of what we drafted off of for that idea. Originally, there was a little bit more to the beginning because Camp Coral was more of a linear construct. [The film] started in Camp Coral and then we kind of dissolved to 20 years later.
Part of what the impetus for the movie was… a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the show. But then COVID happened, so I guess we’re on the 21st (laughs). But that was why we wanted to make it kind of epic: celebrate the whole thing, see how they all met, see them all as kids. And we eventually put that into those testimonials that you mentioned instead of opening the movie that way. What happened was we ended-up having two first acts, which is never good. We had a whole Camp Coral thing and then you start the movie. It was a prologue that was too long. But it did set-up the “Wonderful Life” idea a little better. That tracks with what Frank Capra did. But it’s still there and still really strong.
Patrick (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke), SpongeBob (voiced by Tom Kenny), and Otto (voiced by Awkwafina) in THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE ON THE RUN from Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Movies. Photo Credit: Paramount Animation.
JM: Yes. And this sequence is fantastic. You’re right that this story and these emotions are bigger than the show. They really work. For somebody who’s grown up with SpongeBob and has had SpongeBob as a part of his life for a long time, that sequence means a lot. And I’m sure Steven Hillenburg would’ve loved how this film turned out. How was it working with him before his passing on this particular project?
TH: The idea kind of sprung from his brain. They wanted to make a movie. They knew they had this goal of the anniversary of the show and Steve was still involved in the series. We would get together and meet and he had this idea based on a SpongeBob episode where Gary goes missing (“Where’s Gary?”) He ends-up in this crazy cat [snail] lady’s house. I think he always liked what that did for the character emotionally – the loss of a pet starting a story and driving it for the whole movie, which it does. We talked about that, and then we started talking about this skincare idea. Apparently parts of snails are used in some cosmetics.
JM: Yes, that’s explored deeply in the movie.
TH: If you didn’t know that, here it is! It also gave us an ecological theme about how we treat our fellow creatures. Steve was pretty big on that. That’s a big thing for him as he was a Marine Biologist. He graduated with that degree and he actually helped kids. I think he was involved in a program where he helped kids discover sea life down at the Marina. He was really into the ocean and keeping it from getting too far gone and spoiled.
JM: He was able to teach kids about undersea creatures and undersea life and then through the show teach them even more. You’ve had this and The War with Grandpa, which you also directed [basically] release back to back. Are you taking a little break or do you have another project lined up?
TH: I’m pretty much sitting at home, to be honest. I’m looking at stuff and taking meetings. But I don’t know if the world is really back in full force in development and making movies. I guess that’ll happen. It’s been pretty quiet since last January for me. So I’m ready!
JM: I’m ready: perfect SpongeBob phrase!
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