Sources: Wikidata · Library of Congress. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
FILM NOTES
Released in 2004 by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie brought the beloved animated series to the big screen at the height of its cultural reach. Directed by Stephen Hillenburg, the film expanded the show's undersea world into a feature length adventure while retaining the humor and heart that built its audience. It stands as a landmark crossover, proving that a children's television property could sustain a theatrical release and win over adults and critics alike, cementing SpongeBob's place in early 2000s animation history.
This cell is identified simply as Phil, a name that places it among the many background and supporting citizens of Bikini Bottom who populate the film's crowd scenes and civic moments. Collectors of Bikini Bottom ephemera often seek out these lesser known named characters, as they round out the town's population beyond the core cast. A 35mm cell bearing this identification represents a physical fragment of the film's production, a single frame preserved from the animation process, offering a tangible connection to the movie's handcrafted era of cel based character work.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the picture area, appearing as a white bilateral waveform strip.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears neutral to very slightly warm; dye image shows strong, saturated colour with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible across the frame area, consistent with a projected print.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames run consecutively as a single continuous shot and the animated style matches the film on record.
Era check
A bilateral variable-area optical track on a saturated colour positive 35mm print is consistent with a 2004 theatrical release print of this title.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000063546
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
