Movies of this ilk are typically filled with stupid one-liners and cheap gags. They seem to lack the spirit and style of the cartoons they’re based on. And they usually try to make the cartoon “cool” and “trendy,” even though that’s not what made them popular to begin with.

The first movie, “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie,” was wonderful. It was a longer, more cinematic version of the show with even better animation. The writing and jokes were spot-on and wholly satisfying. It retained the dumb fun of the show, and for that, it was a very good movie. At least if you’re still 11 years old like I am. Or, if you like cartoons about silly, anthropomorphic sea creatures who cook and sell fast food burgers. I guess there’s really not much difference.

However, this movie has the potential to be really, really bad. Still, I hold out hope. I love the art style, for one. The textures of the animated characters make me think of modeling clay made out of Starbursts. So at the very least, this movie will look nice.

But to add to my reason for believin’, Stephen Hillenburg (the creator of SpongeBob) is helping write the script and is serving as executive producer. This is promising, considering he’s not been involved in any meaningful capacity since 2004, after completing work on the first movie. That’s also around the time the show itself lost some of its charm. So having him back in a creative role is a big deal.

Plus, the entire original cast is returning.

!!!

Anyway, this is the most serious analysis I’ve ever given a sponge. I guess I’ll stop now.