The Bob’s Burgers Movie Review

Catching the pilot and then two episodes before Love Island one Friday night is probably enough to prepare any audience member for The Bob’s Burger Movie. A similar build-up to The Spongebob Squarepants Movie. Nobody of sound mind has watched every episode leading up to the movie, it just isn’t possible in a modernisation of streaming platforms, immediate access to all goods and services and a plethora of mainstream content that filters further and further down. Bob’s Burgers is funny enough to warrant a feature film, that much can be gauged with a handful of episodes in the mind and a few hours to kill on a lazy weekend. The Bob’s Burgers Movie entices audiences with that same spirit, and welcomely so.

Laugh-a-minute is a cop-out term, but The Bob’s Burgers Movie has so much going for it almost immediately. Smart writing and a real rise to the top for long-serving cast members H. Jon Benjamin and John Roberts as the eponymous Bob and Linda. Pairing with directors Loren Bouchard and Bernard Derriman play with their broader budget with such delightful results. Musical numbers, detailed animation and a sincere depth not founded, but further explored from what the show has to offer. Even watching in little snippets between shovelling cookie dough ice cream into your mouth is enough to realise Bob’s Burgers has monumental love for its characters and its audience. That dedication is crossed over to The Bob’s Burgers Movie, a feature founded almost entirely on doing what the show has done for over a decade.

Much of The Bob’s Burgers Movie feels like a culmination of plugging away and finding a unique rhythm in an oversaturated small-screen market. While Family Guy and The Simpsons still trundle on, forgotten relics of an older audience, new pieces like Bob’s Burgers are stretching their legs a bit. Paul Rudd, Kevin Kline and Gary Cole all feature in some delightful supporting work that gives a big-budget feel to a big move for the core team. Kristen Schaal, Eugene Mirman and Dan Mintz all have their moments too, but most of the best bits feature the family as a whole. The riffs, the dialogue, the back-and-forth spectacle are just as fun and feature that same, light quality the show has. It’s hard to feel nothing but comfortable enjoyment for The Bob’s Burger Movie, which relies often and frequently on quick-break comedy and slow-burning stories.

For those new to the franchise, The Bob’s Burgers Movie will serve as a delicious first bite. Humorous gags and riffs, the same energy and effectiveness the show has to offer but with the Hollywood sheen and an abundance of cast member cameos. A real The Simpsons Movie level of quality to this one. Making the jump to the big screen for a small-screen show has the unenviable task of reflecting on what could be done with more than a half-hour format but also has to stretch out that fast-paced chemistry to feature-length proportions. Few have managed to do that, but The Bob’s Burgers Movie does so with hectic, enjoyable results.