Plankton: The Movie (2025) is a Netflix animated musical spin-off movie with Nickelodeon’s beloved Spongebob IP. For many years, Nickelodeon has wanted to create more character-driven spin-off movies that delved into characters other than Spongebob. Plankton: The Movie (2025) is a tetralogy following the widely criticized Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (2024), an animated musical movie that delved into Sandy Cheeks and her background as a squirrel from Texas. The movie was originally drafted as a half-hour special for television; however, in June 2024, the entire movie was leaked.
The movie brings back the memorable Bikini Bottom characters like Plankton, Karen, Spongebob, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Sandy, and Pearl. The plot centers around Plankton and how, after 25 years of failure to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula and dominate Bikini Bottom, he is still unsuccessful. Karen, Plankton’s wife, tries to offer help but her efforts are rejected. In a fit of rage, Karen turns into a Super Hydra Karen. Plankton now has to join forces with Spongebob to stop Karen and rekindle their relationship.
While watching the movie, I enjoyed how it explored Plankton’s character. The most common question surrounding Plankton as a character has always been: “How come Plankton needs the secret formula to take over the world?” The movie helps answer this by centering around his stubbornness and his selfish desire to steal the formula. He blindly follows his belief that getting the formula is the easiest way to world domination. By following that ideology and not admitting defeat for over 25 years, it takes a toll on his relationship with Karen. We watch as Plankton is forced to choose between his selfish desires and the love of his life.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie. It was nice to see a beloved classic character that I grew up with get their own movie and have it done well. I believe it handled Plankton perfectly, especially with Mr. Lawrence, the voice actor of Plankton having creative control. You can tell how much love and care went into the movie, from the 3D animation, writing, voice acting, to the music.
