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The first thought any film music collector should conjure regarding The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water is in regards to whether Debney could resurrect any degree of the swashbuckling magic from his classic hidden gem, Cutthroat Island, for this wretched affair. The truthful answer is "no," but the parody angle here didn't really attempt to go that far. The pirate material, centered mostly in the first half of the work, is admirable in its silly nods to the classic Sea Hawk style of writing ("Stealing Formula Back" is quite shameless), but you'll find the jaunty portions more reminiscent of various pieces of Hook, The Little Mermaid and assorted vintage Bruce Broughton music. It's easy listening but insubstantial. On the other hand, the score is mostly comprised of Debney's continuing elaboration on the Warner Brothers methodology of children's comedy music, sometimes deviating into splashy sidebars of genre defiance in John Powell mode. A sudden shift into the Elmer Bernstein Western realm occupies the middle of "Beachfront Antics / Bike Path Encounters," followed by a pirate's solo cello interlude complete with whistling. The orchestra is the centerpiece of the work, but Debney, as per usual, adds a variety of electronics ranging from mysterious ambiance ("Intro Bubbles") to outright sound effect employment ("Inside SpongeBob's Brain"). The orchestral element is competent but not spectacular, some of the low woodwind work for Banderas' character of interest. For every rowdy adventure cue like "Burger Beard on Island," there's something truly hideous like "End End/Get Him," which takes electronic manipulation to truly unlistenable levels. (Recall the "disruptions in mental function" from the academic study) Debney does remain loyal to his swashbuckling main theme, the duo of "Stealing Formula Back/Pirate Ship and Food Truck" summarizing the idea quite well. Don't look to be impressed by the choral accompaniment, which sounds sparse and could have used some overdubbing at the very least. Better is a cue like "Sandy Proposes Sacrifice," which takes the choir to 1990's Hans Zimmer masculinity while throwing in echoing electronic effects similar to what Jerry Goldsmith employed in his later Star Trek scores. And speaking of Star Trek, be on red alert for the opening of "Bubbles to the Rescue," a not-so-transparent homage. On the whole, there are many things to admire about Debney's continued mastery of the children's genre in The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, but this kind of music will test your tolerance for the genre after twenty minutes. A limited CD release was afforded the score by Varèse Sarabande, and while you may be impressed by the techniques you hear in those 49-minutes, be prepared for the mental function issues it may cause.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For John Debney reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.27 (in 52 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.02 (in 45,177 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

Total Time: 48:59