::This review also appears at my main blog, Twinfinite Chaos.::

Everybody knows we’re HUGE SpongeBob fans in this house, right? Pablo is completely obsessed with SpongeBob – he has two SB pillow buddies in bed with him right at this very moment, which he’s cradling lovingly, while snoozing away on his SpongeBob sheets. We’ve got SpongeBob and Patrick painted on our bathroom wall, three feet high. So naturally, when Nickelodeon asked us to review the brand new TV movie SpongeBob’s Atlantis SquarePantis, we were pretty stoked! The kids and I settled in on the sofa last Sunday and watched the entire thing, twice!

Atlantis Squarepantis is about, what else – the lost city of Atlantis! SpongeBob stumbles upon part of a medallion that turns out to be the missing half of an ancient relic from Atlantis. When the two halves are reunited, a magical van appears, ready to whisk away SpongeBob and his friends to Atlantis. And this is no ordinary van! Besides being able to fly (although are they actually flying when everything takes place at the bottom of the sea?) the van resembles the funkalicious party vans from the 70s. And it doesn’t run on ordinary fuel, which they discover after pushing it to a gas station. No, this van requires its passengers to SING in order to keep it running – songs about their hearts’ most greatest desires.

And this is what sets Atlantis Squarepantis apart from typical SpongeBob episodes – the music! It’s practically an opera. SpongeBob, Patrick, Sandy, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, and even Plankton sing all about the things they want most. It’s pretty entertaining, especially the song Squidward sings about his love of art.

Once they arrive in Atlantis, they are greeted by the king of Atlantis, Lord Royal Highness, who is voiced by…DAVID BOWIE! He gives everyone the grand tour of Atlantis, where everyone gets to experience their greatest desires. Naturally, SpongeBob and Patrick have to cause trouble! They destroy the city’s most prized possession, The Oldest Living Bubble, and have to dodge Atlantean Guards and figure out how to get back to Bikini Bottom.

Here’s what I enjoyed most, though – immediately following the movie is a behind-the-scenes look at how they made the movie. Behind the Pantis – How We Made Atlantis SquarePantis follows the entire process, from the initial story pitch, writing, storyboarding, drawing and animation to the voice recording sessions.

You can see SpongeBob’s Atlantis SquarePantis on Monday, November 12th, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. on Nickelodeon. The movie premier actually kicks off a twelve-hour marathon of kids’ favorite SpongeBob episodes. The marathon will end with the behind-the-scenes special from 8:45 to 9 p.m. And the movie will be available on DVD Tuesday, November 13th. Mark your calendars!

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