The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie contains possibly my favourite portrayal of two characters in the show: Patrick and Plankton.

Let’s start with Plankton. They finally made him a threatening villain for once. Yeah, he still wants the Krabby Patty Secret Formula, but this time, he actually succeeds. At first, you don’t think much of it. Sure, he’s got Mr. Krabs frozen and King Neptune is going to execute him in six days unless SpongeBob and Patrick get his crown back. Not that big of a deal. It’s a kids’ film. The villain is never threatening. Then we learn that he hired a mercenary to kill SpongeBob and Patrick. Okay, just a secondary antagonist. Shouldn’t be any issue. Then things change for the worst. Specifically in the scene where Squidward confronts Plankton (easily my favourite scene in the film). Up until this point, you assume that Plankton is just happy to have gotten his hands on the Krabby Patty Secret Formula and is just enjoying merchandising it. But we soon realise that the Chum Bucket Bucket Helmets are actually mind control devices. In an instant, Plankton goes from successful restaurateur to controlling everyone in Bikini Bottom like his puppets. Unlike most villains from childrens’ films, this is the moment where you realise that Plankton isn’t fucking around. All these years of failing to steal the Krabby Patty Secret Formula have led to this moment. Plan Z has finally payed off. This is the moment where the film goes from a typical kids’ film, to really dark. Dennis isn’t just some typical comic relief secondary villain; he’s out for blood. King Neptune is actually going to execute Mr. Krabs (and would have succeeded if not for fortunate timing). We later learn that Plankton has a King-Sized Chum Bucket Bucket Helmet stationed in the Krusty Krab 2, so we can assume that he planned to enslave King Neptune after Mr. Krabs had been executed. With a powerful being under his control, Plankton would have been unstoppable. His downfall came only when he stopped to taunt SpongeBob. Up until this point, he had worked non-stop to get this much power. By stopping (and, by consequence, his slaves stopping), he accidently allowed SpongeBob an opportunity to win. Had King Neptune executed SpongeBob, Patrick and Mindy then and there, Plankton would have won. Presumeably, Planktopolis would have grown as an empire. He might have even taken over other parts of the sea, or even the world as a whole. This is the reality painted by this film had Plankton succeeded. For these reasons, this is my all-time favourite portrayal of Plankton.

Now let’s move on to Patrick. He’s not overly dumb here. Thank Neptune! But the main reason I love Patrick in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie is for one reason only: he’s a really good friend to SpongeBob. He planned to celebrate SpongeBob’s promotion with him. When he finds out that SpongeBob didn’t get the position, he helps cheer him up. When SpongeBob is tasked with going to Shell City to get King Neptune’s crown, Patrick goes with him. Keep in mind that Patrick doesn’t work for Mr. Krabs; he has no obligation to him. But he knows how much SpongeBob cares about his boss. He wants to help in any way he can. He retrieves the key for the Patty Wagon from within the Thug Tug. He backs up the Patty Wagon and saves SpongeBob from the Frogfish. He attempts to convince SpongeBob to turn back around towards Shell City when SpongeBob just gives up. In Shell City, he just enjoys his final moments with SpongeBob. And in the fight against Dennis on David Hasselhoff’s back, Patrick catches SpongeBob when he goes flying off the back of Hasselhoff’s foot, potentially saving his life. This is the definition of true friendship.