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SpongeBob SquarePants - Music from the Movie and more...

This time I'll do something different. I won't review the usual album of new songs by some big music name. No, this time we will completely change the type of album. "So what?" you may ask. So, for my thirteenth official review, I will talk about a soundtrack I bought less than a month ago. The soundtrack of the SpongeBob movie!

But first, let's focus a bit on the character in question and the movie.

Who is SpongeBob SquarePants? Quite simply put, he is a cartoon character created towards the end of the last millennium. In no time, he achieved great success and in no time literally captured my heart. Because, behind that naive, stupid, brainless, and deviant sea sponge face hides a true philosopher and genius of life. Yes, just like Homer Simpson. SpongeBob is a 27-year-old sea sponge, works as a cook in a fast food restaurant, loves jellyfishing with his idiot friend Patrick Star, and every day he experiences a real adventure. And even in the most critical moments, with his ignorant and childish ethics, he always manages to come out on top, giving fundamental life lessons every time. Both in what he does and in what he says, SpongeBob proves to be each time a post-modern, surreal, and neo-realist genius simultaneously. And after 5 years of unimaginable success, each episode better than the last, he finally hits the big screen. The SpongeBob Movie is released in theaters worldwide in 2004, and the plot, in a very nutshell, talks about our hero dealing with Plankton, one of the usual villains, who intends to conquer the city of Bikini Bottom (where all the cartoon events take place) by stealing King Neptune's crown, and, together with his trusty friend Patrick, they will set out to find the crown to save the city, all its inhabitants, and their friends. Well, after this quick (so to speak) introduction of the character and the movie, let's dive into the soundtrack.

I can say that this is, in my opinion, one of the most "alternative" soundtracks I have ever listened to. Whether it's from a movie with real actors or a cartoon, it doesn't matter. There's something for almost everyone's taste. Forgetting the first 45 seconds of the album, where we hear an incredibly irritating and fake Avril Lavigne squeaking like a rat, we discover with great astonishment the presence of two big names in American experimental rock, none other than the Flaming Lips and Wilco. Naturally, excellent performances from both. Delightful is also the presence of Ween, who contribute their "Ocean Man" for the movie's end credits. But for hip-hop enthusiasts, there's "Prince Paul's Bubble Party," where in the background one can clearly hear "Hawaiian March" by the Waikikis. With a succession of cheerful songs sung by the original actors of the main characters, we even touch a genre loved and hated by many: metal. And on this record, we find a slightly modified version of "I Wanna Rock" by the Twisted Sister, here renamed as "Goofy Goober Rock" and played by Tom Rothrock, as fun as it is flashy. And to round off the company, the Motörhead chime in with their new version of "You Better Run," here becoming "You Better Swim."

So, a really beautiful, fun, and very varied soundtrack. To tell the truth, it's not the type of album I would recommend spending money on, but if you are lovers of the biggest yellow sea sponge in the entire ocean... well, the purchase is mandatory! I'll leave you with a nice pirate chant in honor of the Great SpongeBob, which happens to be the last track on the album and the opening theme of the movie:

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
SpongeBob SquarePants
Absorbent and yellow and porous is he
SpongeBob SquarePants
If nautical nonsense be something you wish
SpongeBob SquarePants
Then drop on the deck and flop like a fish
SpongeBob SquarePants

SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants

SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob
SquarePants!

RATING = 85 / 100