If you have a successful television series that’s been on for long enough with a consistent enough viewership, eventually someone will come knocking for a film adaptation of the show. The approach can vary wildly: for every “The Simpsons Movie,” where you get basically an extended episode with larger stakes, there’s a “21 Jump Street,” where you get a massively different take on the source material for that big budget audience.
Which of those is better isn’t the case; both can be great, and its all about which fit the show being brough to the silver screen better. So, it’ll likely surprise no one that “The Bob’s Burgers Movie,” the film adaptation of the Fox animated comedy which just finished it’s twelfth season, is closer to that of “The Simpsons Movie” than something more experimental. However, that’s hardly a bad thing.
The film opens with the Belcher family all struggling with Summertime blues: Bob and Linda, voiced by H. Jon Benjamin (“Wet Hot American Summer,” “Archer”) and John Roberts (“Gravity Falls,” “Fire Island”) respectively, are worried about an extension in their bank loan for the restaurant, Tina, voiced by Dan Mintz (“Indebted,” “The Awesomes”), is worried about her crush on Jimmy Pesto Jr., Gene, voiced by Eugene Mirman (“Delocated,” “Flight of the Conchords”), wants to reform his band, and Louise, voiced by Kristen Schaal (“Gravity Falls,” “The Last Man on Earth”), is struggling with proving her bravery to her classmates.
As is typical for big screen adventures like this, things are quickly blown out of proportion, but nothing ever ventures too far outside of the typical wheelhouse of the show. Things are clearly bigger in scale and budget than before, but its all wrapped up nice and neatly by the time the film ends so that those who don’t watch the film and just roll right into the next season won’t have missed anything.
Which is slightly disappointing, but its to be expected. This does mean that “The Bob’s Burgers Movie” can actually be the perfect entry point for those who’ve never seen the show before. Sure, it does feature a stacked cast of supporting characters from the shows over-ten-year run, but nothing is so complicated that the uninitiated can’t follow along. You don’t need to know the twelve years of history between the Belchers and lovable oaf Teddy, voiced by Larry Murphy (“Delocated,” “Home Movies”), to enjoy his oddball and endearing antics.
The voice cast is stellar, as is to be expected. When you have a group of already talented and experienced voice actors working with characters and dynamics they’ve been at for years, the end result will of course be high quality. What sets the Belchers apart from your typical animated sitcom family is that they actually seem to like spending time together. Watch any modern episode of “The Simpsons” or any episode of “Family Guy” and it can feel like watching a family made up of people who hate each other.
The Belchers are never like that, and it makes for warm fuzzy comfort viewing on the big or small screen. This truly loving family dynamic helps for the film’s emotional moments. While it doesn’t go for the jugular like a Pixar film might, there’s still a few moments that are truly heartwarming. It does feel ever so slightly unbalanced; it doesn’t take long for it to become apparent that one character is going to get the biggest emotional arc of the movie. But at the very least, the true family bond that’s at the center helps give the adventure far more weight than it might otherwise have.
Just like with the plot, the animation work here is clearly higher quality than on TV but nothing that’s a drastic departure either. Movements are fluid and fun, with bright colors and distinctive environments everywhere, the world highlighting the slightly muppet-y character designs of everyone. Where things are clearly upgraded are in the film’s handful of dance sequences, which is the perfect segue to the film’s best aspect.
“Bob’s Burgers” the show has always had a love of musicals and song, with numerous episodes being musicals and even featuring original songs outside of those. So, it only makes sense to have the film be a musical. This is where the animation really gets to shine, with exaggerated movements and dance numbers highlighting the expressiveness of “Burgers” distinct style. The sequence for the song “Lucky Ducks” is easily the highlight of the entire film.
By extension, the songs are also a highlight. Each one wraps the humor and character of those singing into some surprisingly fantastic music to deliver some tunes that dare you not to tap your toes. The aforementioned “Lucky Ducks” is an easy bet for next years Best Original Song Oscar. However, as fantastic as the songs are, they do represent one of the film’s issues: there are too few. At only a little over 100 minutes, the film features just four songs, one of which plays over the credits. That’s only three plot related songs and given that the creators also have another show where they write three to four songs per episode (the fantastic “Central Park”), it just feels like too few. Leave them wanting more, I guess?
“The Bob’s Burgers Movie” is the best-case scenario for any television-to-film adaptation. Series creator/film writer/director Loren Bouchard (“Home Movies,” “Central Park”), director Bernard Derriman (“The Great North,” “Central Park”), and writer Nora Smith (“Bob’s Burgers,” “Central Park”) have crafted a film that encapsulates the best the show has to offer, while also being the perfect entry point for newcomers, and raising the stakes just enough for a big budget film. It would be nice if they’d shaken things up a bit more or tossed in a few more songs, but its hard to be disappointed with a film that, like a tasty meal at a local join you love, gives you exactly what you wanted. 4/5
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