The SpongeBob Movie: It’s a Wonderful Sponge revealed to be an origin story

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

As the View Conference in Turin, Italy continues to dazzle guests of the event with breaking news regarding the latest in animation and film, president of Paramount Animation Mireille Soria revealed to the crowd that the upcoming SpongeBob animated film, SPONGEBOB: IT'S A WONDERFUL SPONGE, will include an origin story related to the character who lives in a pineapple under the sea.

Set to bubble to the surface in theaters on July 17, 2020, SPONGEBOB: IT'S A WONDERFUL SPONGE will contain a “nice homage to the classic movie,” as per the title's spin on Frank Capra's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946). In anticipation of the title character's 20-year anniversary, Soria said that “For the first time ever, we’re going to the get to the origin of how little Spongebob met the rest of the Bikini Bottom gang at summer camp.” She then added, “The film’s opening will take place at Camp Coral when all of our favorite characters meet for the first time.”

When SPONGEBOB: IT'S A WONDERFUL SPONGE arrives to delight children and torture the wallets parents with its underwater hijinks, the pic will boast its first-ever full-CGI redition of SpongeBob's deep sea kingdom. As is a staple of the SpongeBob filmverse, the movie will also contain hybrid sequences with the characters venturing above sea level for some IRL adventures. Paris and Montreal-based Mikros Image studios has been tasked with creating the CGI for the upcoming animation, a company that handily presented Dreamwork's CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS: THE FIRST EPIC MOVIE. Currently, the studio is working on ASTERIX: THE SECRET OF THE MAGIC POTION, which is based on the Asterix comic book characters created by Goscinny and Uderzo.

In related SpongeBob news, Soria also announced that Hans Zimmer will provide the score for SPONGEBOB: IT'S A WONDERFUL SPONGE, as well as the animation's overall musical direction. Meanwhile, the first two SpongeBob films earned a combined total of $465 million clams at the box office, which should give you an idea as to how much people still love the porous and playful character and his pals.

SPONGEBOB: IT'S A WONDERFUL SPONGE will begin soaking up the box office dollars on July 17, 2020.