Netflix’s no.1 movie is a spin-off of a classic series

Netflix’s latest number one movie is a spin-off adventure of one of the most beloved kids’ TV characters.

Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie has reached Netflix’s number one spot globally, despite focusing on a side character in the SpongeBob SquarePants universe.

It’s the most-watched movie in 47 countries right now, according to Flixpatrol. Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie is also a Netflix exclusive.

The premise: Spongebob’s home Bikini Bottom is scooped right out of the ocean. Sandy Cheeks and team have to head to Texas, where they believe the town has been taken.

It’s a snappy watch at just 82 minutes long, and features a star turn from Wanda Sykes as the film’s villain Sue Nahmee (geddit?).

There’s more of a question mark over whether Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie really has the cross-generational appeal of the original show and the best of the SpongeBob movies, though.

"It’s not as inspired as grown-ups might want, but innocuous enough for the kids,” says the Variety review, which also suggests there's something here for the long-term fans.

It says the film “gives fans overdue insights into Sandy’s backstory, including a few details from her past that even she didn’t know.”

The Guardian’s 3-star review takes the same angle. “It’s all manically enjoyable, especially for the core demographic (my seven-year-old niece said she would give the film four stars). For general viewers, it may not pack as much of an emotional punch, but like SpongeBob himself, it’s thoroughly absorbing,” it says.

The film was written by SpongeBob veteran Kaz and Tom Stern, who has written and directed for TV for decades.

Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie is not at the level of the original Spongebob movie or 2015’s hit The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. But for a Netflix original? It’s worth a watch for fans of the series.

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