Are ya ready, kids? Nickelodeon is gearing up for a big summer in theaters with the return of theSmurfswith a starrynew musical animated featureheadlined byRihannain July. In front of the film, however, will be a little surprise forSpongeBob SquarePantsfans. Ahead of the animation giant’s annual Annecy International Animation Film Festival panel on Tuesday, Collider can exclusively announce that the never-before-seen short, “SpongeBob: Order Up,” will finally hit the big screen starting July 18 alongside Smurfette’s big adventure. The news comes ahead of the SpongeBob and Squidward-centric short’s global premiere at Annecy on the heels ofthe long-running kids' show’s 25th anniversarylast year.
“Order Up” was produced by Nickelodeon Animation in 2011-2012, yet, for one reason or another, has remained locked within the company’s archives. Created with the classicSpongeBobaesthetic and animation, it centers onthe odd-couple dynamicbetween the always optimistic SpongeBob andhis perpetually grumpy neighbor, Squidward, during one of their typical shifts at the Krusty Krab. SpongeBob annoying his pal is so routine that he literally has it penciled into his calendar, yet, in the short, he’s at his most abrasive, overusing the “order up” bell to the point that it drives the squid mad. It’s classicSpongeBobmaterial, highlightingan aspect of the seriesthat’s been present sinceStephen Hillenburgconceived Bikini Bottom in 1999 and featuring the iconic voices ofTom KennyandRoger Bumpassas SpongeBob and Squidward.
Sean CharmatzandPaul Tibbittco-wrote the short, and both have quite the resumes, both within and beyond the confines ofthe long-running Nickelodeon series. Charmatz has an extensive background in animation and penned several episodes ofSpongeBob SquarePantsfrom Seasons 6 through 8, though he most recently got his big directorial break as the helmer of DreamWorks’Orion and the Darkon Netflix in 2024. Tibbitt, meanwhile, has writing credits on 115SpongeBobepisodes and previously co-directed and helped pen the story ofTheSpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Waterin 2015. On “Order Up,” Tibbitt also executive-produced alongside Hillenberg, with a team that featured creative directorVincent Waller, animation and supervising directorAlan Smart, art directorPeter Bennett, producerJennie Monica Hammond, and production managerAlvaro Zalaya, among others.
What Is ‘Smurfs’ About?
This little piece ofSpongeBobhistory will be the perfect lead-in forSmurfs, which brings the little blue creatures created by Belgian artistPeyoback to the big screen for the first time in eight years. Helmed byPuss in BootsdirectorChris Millerand written bySouth Park: Bigger, Longer & UncutscribePam Brady, the filmcenters on Smurfetteas she leads the inhabitants of Smurf Villageon a mission to stop the evil wizardsGargamel (JP Karliak) and Razamel (also Karliak) after they kidnap Papa Smurf (John Goodman) for their latest nefarious scheme. Their adventure takes the Smurfs into the human world, encountering other Smurfs, like Papa’s brother (Nick Offerman), who have learned to live beyond the village and provide more insight into exactly what a Smurf is.Smurfswillalso be featured in Nickelodeon’s Annecy panel, alongside the yellow sea sponge’s next feature-length adventure,The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,featuringMark Hamillas The Flying Dutchman.
“SpongeBob: Order Up” will finally see the light of day at Annecy tomorrow, June 10, before heading to theaters in front ofSmurfson July 18. Stay tuned here at Collider for more
SpongeBob SquarePants
