The Bob's Burgers Movie
Written by Cameron Geiser
The tradition of adapting long running animated sitcoms for the big screen is alive and well this year with the release of The Bob’s Burgers Movie. For the uninitiated, Bob's Burgers is an animated comedy that follows the everyday shenanigans of the Belcher family. Bob (H. Jon Benjamin) and Linda Belcher (John Roberts), own and operate the titular burger shack all while keeping their finances in check and patiently working with their children, Tina (Dan Mintz), Gene (Eugene Mirman), and Lousie (Kristen Schaal), on inappropriate pun usage. Each kid has their own well formed personality by this point in the series’ run, currently at twelve seasons, complete with all their unique anxieties and quirks alike. In fact, if you're familiar with the idiosyncrasies of the Belcher clan you'll likely find a lot to enjoy in this film.
As with the majority of episodes of the show, the villain of the film is the threat of bankruptcy. The film takes place during the kids' last week of school before summer, but more importantly, it's also the last seven days that the Belchers have left to pay off the bank's loan after getting denied for an extension. Things only get worse for the Belchers when a giant sinkhole erupts directly in front of the restaurant creating a massive hole in the street and denying any potential customers from easy access to their front door. While Bob and Linda deal with their ever increasing existential crises, the kids each have their own story arcs that not only build on the character work that the show’s established over years, but continues to evolve them with intelligent story beats amidst all the puns and songs.
Fans of the Bob’s Burgers show will feel right at home with this motion picture.
While Tina and Gene pursue their general interests over the course of the film, Louise's storyline dives a bit deeper. Tina can't decide if she will, or won't, pursue Jimmy Jr. (H. Jon Benjamin) as a summer boyfriend, the son of Italian restaurant owner Jimmy Pesto’s across the street. Gene, however, is obsessed with a new musical… invention of some spoons rubber-banded to an empty napkin holder. Not everyone is as in love with the noise it produces- which is very on point for Gene. Louise, the youngest of the three, has the most interesting story arc in which she must come to terms with her iconic pink bunny ears and what to do about growing out of them. She's got to learn how to balance her self confidence with the identity that those ears represent for her.
Oh, did I mention that this was a musical? Because it definitely is. Its also a murder mystery! When the sinkhole provides the Belchers with a dead body, the plot thickens! I really enjoyed that the film had several callbacks to memorable and story relevant episodes, occasionally merging some of the series’ oldest jokes with its more modern sensibilities. If you're a fan of the show, this should be right up your alley. It's got that same goofball charm and love of puns that's always been at the core of the show’s success. You couldn't really ask more of a Bob's Burgers movie.
Cameron Geiser is an avid consumer of films and books about filmmakers. He'll watch any film at least once, and can usually be spotted at the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan. He also writes about film over at www.spacecortezwrites.com.