The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie is a 2004 American live-action/animated adventure comedy film based on the Nickelodeon animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. The film was co-written, directed, and produced by series creator Stephen Hillenburg, with live-action sequences directed by Mark Osborne. It features the series' cast of Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass and Mr. Lawrence, and also has new actors which include Alec Baldwin, David Hasselhoff (as himself), Scarlett Johansson and Jeffrey Tambor. It is the first film in the SpongeBob SquarePants film series. In this film, Plankton devises a plan to discredit his business nemesis Mr. Krabs, steal the Krabby Patty secret formula and take over the world by stealing King Neptune's crown and framing Mr. Krabs for the crime. SpongeBob and Patrick team up to retrieve the crown from Shell City to save Mr. Krabs from Neptune's wrath and the oceanic world from Plankton's rule.

Previous offers by Paramount Pictures for a film adaptation of SpongeBob SquarePants had been rejected by Stephen Hillenburg, but he eventually accepted one offer in 2002. A writing team consisting of Hillenburg, Paul Tibbitt, Derek Drymon, Aaron Springer, Kent Osborne and Tim Hill was assembled, conceiving the idea of a mythical hero's quest and the search for a stolen crown, which would bring SpongeBob and Patrick to the surface. The film was originally intended as the series finale, but Nickelodeon ordered more episodes of the series as it had become increasingly profitable, so Hillenburg resigned as showrunner with Tibbitt taking his place.

The film was widely promoted by Paramount and Nickelodeon, with tie-in promotions made by 7-Eleven, the Cayman Islands and Burger King, which decorated various of its franchises with 9-foot (2.7 m) SpongeBob inflatable figures. The film was released on November 19, 2004, grossing $140 million worldwide, and received generally positive reviews from critics. A second film titled The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water was released in 2015, and another titled The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run is scheduled for release in 2020.