If you are an avid Spongebob fan, you may be wondering whether the new movie Sponge Out Of Water will be worth going to see or not. To celebrate the release of the new movie, coming to theaters on February 6, the Courier analyzes the reasons to see and not to see the new movie.

Reasons To “Sea” it:

1.      Original Writers

After the release of the movie in 2005, the Washington Post reported that Stephen Hillenburg, show runner and creator, stepped down

from his position to become executive producer and appointed Paul Tibbitt to take his place. In a podcast with Stephen Hillenburg and Thomas F. Wilson, Hillenburg mentioned that he would be producing and helping Paul Tibbitt write the new movie.

2.  The First Movie

The first Spongebob movie was a hit. The movie was supposed to mark the end of the series, but it received such high ratings that Nickelodeon decided to continue the series even when creator, Stephen Hillenburg stepped down as the showrunner. Based on the ratings and success of the first movie, the second movie should be worth seeing.

3. Next big thing for Spongebob

Regardless of whether you still watch Spongebob or not, it is still popular enough that it has been able to release a second movie, which is practically unheard of in cartoon history. This will most likely be the last movie for Spongebob, so if you saw the first movie and liked it, go to see the second one.

4. Paul Tibbitt and Stephen Hillenburg writing together

Though Paul Tibbitt and Stephen Hillenburg have always both been involved with Spongebob, this will be the first large project that they will be working on together. Having Hillenburg and Tibbitt work together on the movie will create a fresh mix of the old and new episode style and will help to give a fresh feeling to Spongebob that will definitely make the movie a must see.

5. Bring out your inner child

Spongebob is one of the few cartoons left from the 90’s that is still creating new episodes today. Spongebob was the highest-rated cartoon in the world while our generation was growing up and continues to be the highest rated and watched cartoon today. If another beloved 90’s cartoon that is no longer on today like “Catdog” or “Rugrats” came out with a movie, we may go see it just because of the memories we have of it as a child. Bring out your inner child and go see the new Spongebob movie.

Reasons Not To “Sea” it:

1 . Spongebob Ratings Are Declining

The first Spongebob movie was well liked by fans of the show, but it also served as a turning point, as this was when Hillenburg left, when many fans felt that the show declined in quality, under the new direction of Paul Tibbitt. Mtv.com writes that before the release of the first movie,  episodes were praised for their brilliance and complex humor, while episodes after the film have been said to be geared too much towards children, boring and unfunny. Nielsen ratings show that in 2012, the series’ audience was shrinking. The average number of viewers aged 2 to 11 watching “SpongeBob” at any given time dropped 29% in the first quarter from a year earlier.

2. Too Much Singing

Being a children’s show, Spongebob has always had songs added into episodes every once in a while, but in recent episodes, especially specials like Atlantis Squarepantis, Spongebob seems to have almost become a musical. The movie has released a trailer already that is just a song from the movie, and while this may not be such a bad thing for younger viewers, constant singing may serve to be a turnoff and an annoyance to much of the teen and adult audience.

3.      Live Action Use

Slashfilm.com reported that the premiere of “Spongebob” in live action was not widely accepted at first and was viewed as weird and a bit confusing to viewers. The comments of the fans seemed split about half and half, some pointing out the lack of continuity in how the characters look out of water and others open to the idea of the new animation. If you are not a fan of  the new animation, this film is not worth seeing.

4. Reused Ideas

The whole plot of the new movie is focused on Spongebob and his friends being brought into our world to get the secret formula back. This does not seem like enough to support an entire movie, and for those who have been watching “Spongebob” since the series began, Spongebob has already come in contact with our world several times. In episodes such as Band Geeks and Pressure, Spongebob comes out of water. Also, in the first movie, Spongebob and Patrick are taken to Shell City, a gift shop in our world, and have a scene with David Hasselhoff, a human.

5. Geared Towards Children

One of the main reasons “Spongebob” has remained the most popular cartoon for over 15 years is because it has always appealed to a wide audience. This is because Spongebob was considered a risky show that incorporated the simple humor that young kids enjoyed and hidden adult humor. This also allowed children to grow up with the show and discover new humor within the episodes every time they watched them. It has been seen in the newer episodes that this humor has been cut down and is geared much more toward a young audience.