I think Paramount got confused when the third SpongeBob movie opened in the middle of the pandemic and did really poor at the box office. That is the only reason I can think of to explain how this new SpongeBob film is premiering on Netflix. Yes, it does center around our aquatic squirrel, but she does basically go on the adventure with Mr SquarePants, so, she’s essentially swapping in for Patrick.
In preparation for this, I rewatched all thre SpongeBob movies leading up to this, because they all have audio description. When we get to the fourth film, it is yet another appropriately silly story, and it feels on brand. I think if you’ve been enjoying long-form SpongeBob films, there’s no reason you wouldn’t enjoy this film. but, when i really liked here, in the audio description prepared by International Digital Center is that it doesn’t rest on the laurels of these being internationally recognized cartoon characters. There are actually some descriptions of what these guys look like, so if this was your introduction (for some reason) after living under a pineapple in the sea, you could functionally have a reference for what Squidward looks like.
To be fair, I also didn’t expect this. But, I don’t know at what point kids get their SpongeBob description. Technically, he debuted all the way back on Nickelodeon and I’m not sure kids are starting at S1E1. I’m fairly certain anyone in the target demographic for this, probably fairly broad at 5-15 years old, picked it up along the way, or perhaps started with Camp coral.
We assume as adults that some of these iconic figures are just innately known, but kids who are congenitally blind since birth don’t have that option to necessarily have that initial character introduction on these characters that have been forever, and likely first appeared somewhere without audio description. If your kid is starting with the Sandy Cheeks Story, the audio description supports that.
I’m far more comfortable with not exploring legacy characters aimed at adult audiences in obsessive detail, but there’s only just son much a kid in elementary school even has access to that is age appropriate. Like the new Garfield movie, you might think it is silly to give a solid description of Garfield, considering how long he’s been around… but when did your kid learn what Garfield looks like? It’s not like blind kids are reading the funny pages. Do those even exist? What is a newspaper?
And after having seen both of the live action Garfield films on Disney plus, neither of those have audio description. Certainly, the 90’s kids show Garfield And Friends doesn’t have it. So, as a grown adult, you might know what he looks like, and be comfortable in a half-assed introduction, but the target demographic for that movie is very likely being introduced for the first time. And blind kids deserve everything sighted kids get.
So yeah, even though this is a silly story, I’m excited for the character descriptions. They aren’t overly verbose, but they are just enough to be memorable, and help spark your child’s imagination. And if that doesn’t do it, just tell them this movie is about a squirrel that lives underwater. That should do it.
Final Grade: B+
