Draft:The Berry & Bitty Movie

Apr 19, 2026 - 20:03
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Draft:The Berry & Bitty Movie

← Previous revision Revision as of 14:32, 19 April 2026
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==Production==
==Production==
=== Development ===
=== Development ===
[[Emylarmatystudios]] and [[Storybots Studios]] had approached series creator [[Stephen Hillenburg]] for a film based on ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'', but he refused for more than a year.{{cite news|last=Edelstein|first=David|title=He Lives in a Pineapple, but Then What?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/movies/moviesspecial/07edel.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 19, 2013|date=November 7, 2004|page=1|location=Burbank, California|archive-date=December 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220032301/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/movies/moviesspecial/07edel.html|url-status=live}} Hillenburg was concerned, after watching ''[[The Iron Giant]]'' and ''[[Toy Story]]'' with his son, about the challenge of [[SpongeBob SquarePants (character)|SpongeBob]] and [[Patrick Star|Patrick]] doing something more cinematically consequential and inspiring without losing what he called the SpongeBob "cadence". Hillenburg believed that the film's story "had to be SpongeBob in a great adventure. That's where the comedy's coming from, having these two naïve characters, SpongeBob and Patrick, a doofus and an idiot, on this incredibly dangerous heroic odyssey with all the odds against them."
[[Emylarmatystudios]] and [[Storybots Studios]] had approached series creator [[Justin Fletcher (ice hockey)|Justin Fletcher]] for a film based on ''[[The Adventures of Berry & Bitty]]'', but he refused for more than a year.{{cite news|last=Edelstein|first=David|title=He Lives in a Pineapple, but Then What?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/movies/moviesspecial/07edel.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 19, 2013|date=November 7, 2004|page=1|location=Burbank, California|archive-date=December 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220032301/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/movies/moviesspecial/07edel.html|url-status=live}} Hillenburg was concerned, after watching ''[[Moon (2009 film)|Moon]]'' and ''[[Travelling Agency]]'' with his son, about the challenge of Berry and Bitty doing something more cinematically consequential and inspiring without losing what he called Derek "cadence". Fletcher believed that the film's story "had to be Berry in a great adventure. That's where the comedy's coming from, having these one naïve character, Kung Fu Berry, a doofus and an idiot, on this incredibly dangerous heroic odyssey with all the odds against them."


{{Quote box
{{Quote box
|quote = I never wanted to do a movie because I didn't think that what we wanted to say needed to be in a movie. I like the short form for animation. Then this story idea came up that lent itself to a longer format. You can't do a road trip adventure in a short form.
| quote = I never wanted to do a movie because I didn't think that what we wanted to say needed to be in a movie. I like the short form for animation. Then this story idea came up that lent itself to a longer format. You can't do a road trip adventure in a short form.
|author = [[Stephen Hillenburg]]
| author = [[Stephen Hillenburg]]
|width = 35%
| width = 35%
|align = right
| align = right
}}
}}
In 2002, Hillenburg and the show's staff stopped making episodes to work on the film after the show's [[SpongeBob SquarePants season 3|third season]] was completed.{{cite news|last=Koltnow|first=Barry|title=SpongeBob creator is soaking up success|url=http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/get_out/article_08af58a9-3a6c-5af6-a86a-2754502d0bd9.html|access-date=June 16, 2013|newspaper=East Valley Tribune|date=November 14, 2004|archive-date=February 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208163702/http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/get_out/article_08af58a9-3a6c-5af6-a86a-2754502d0bd9.html|url-status=live}} When news of production on the film was announced, the show's staff made a joke plot for the film which had SpongeBob rescue Patrick from a fisherman in [[Florida]]; a reference to the plot of ''[[Finding Nemo]]''. Hillenburg directed and produced the film, and also co-wrote the screenplay with five other writer-animators from the show ([[Paul Tibbitt]], [[Derek Drymon]], [[Aaron Springer]], [[Kent Osborne]] and [[Tim Hill (filmmaker)|Tim Hill]]) over a three-month period in a room of a former [[Glendale, California]] bank. At the beginning of the series, Hillenburg screened a number of silent shorts (from [[Laurel and Hardy]], [[Charlie Chaplin]] and [[Buster Keaton]]) and work by two modern comic actors: [[Jerry Lewis]] and [[Pee-wee Herman]], both obvious inspirations for SpongeBob.{{cite news|last=Edelstein|first=David|title=He Lives in a Pineapple, but Then What?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/movies/moviesspecial/07edel.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 19, 2013|date=November 7, 2004|location=Burbank, California|page=2|archive-date=February 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214205819/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/movies/moviesspecial/07edel.html?pagewanted=2|url-status=live}} For the film, the writers created a mythical hero's quest: the search for a stolen crown, which brings SpongeBob and Patrick to the surface. [[Bill Fagerbakke]] (the voice of Patrick) said about the plot, "It's just nuts. I'm continually dazzled and delighted with what these guys came up with."
In 2002, Hillenburg and the show's staff stopped making episodes to work on the film after the show's [[SpongeBob SquarePants season 3|third season]] was completed.{{cite news|last=Koltnow|first=Barry|title=SpongeBob creator is soaking up success|url=http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/get_out/article_08af58a9-3a6c-5af6-a86a-2754502d0bd9.html|access-date=June 16, 2013|newspaper=East Valley Tribune|date=November 14, 2004|archive-date=February 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208163702/http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/get_out/article_08af58a9-3a6c-5af6-a86a-2754502d0bd9.html|url-status=live}} When news of production on the film was announced, the show's staff made a joke plot for the film which had SpongeBob rescue Patrick from a fisherman in [[Florida]]; a reference to the plot of ''[[Finding Nemo]]''. Hillenburg directed and produced the film, and also co-wrote the screenplay with five other writer-animators from the show ([[Paul Tibbitt]], [[Derek Drymon]], [[Aaron Springer]], [[Kent Osborne]] and [[Tim Hill (filmmaker)|Tim Hill]]) over a three-month period in a room of a former [[Glendale, California]] bank. At the beginning of the series, Hillenburg screened a number of silent shorts (from [[Laurel and Hardy]], [[Charlie Chaplin]] and [[Buster Keaton]]) and work by two modern comic actors: [[Jerry Lewis]] and [[Pee-wee Herman]], both obvious inspirations for SpongeBob.{{cite news|last=Edelstein|first=David|title=He Lives in a Pineapple, but Then What?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/movies/moviesspecial/07edel.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 19, 2013|date=November 7, 2004|location=Burbank, California|page=2|archive-date=February 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214205819/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/movies/moviesspecial/07edel.html?pagewanted=2|url-status=live}} For the film, the writers created a mythical hero's quest: the search for a stolen crown, which brings SpongeBob and Patrick to the surface. [[Bill Fagerbakke]] (the voice of Patrick) said about the plot, "It's just nuts. I'm continually dazzled and delighted with what these guys came up with."
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