Bob’s Burgers has long captured audiences’ attention with its hilarious jokes, delightfully silly songs, quirky characters and familial relationships, and equally offbeat and heartwarming storylines. Now the long-running Emmy Award-winning animated comedy television series, which debuted on FOX in January 2011, is further capitalizing on that successful formula with its upcoming big screen adaptation, The Bob’s Burgers Movie.
The animated feature adventure of the show’s comical, ever-relatable Belcher family, who persevere through all kinds of realistic – and outrageous – struggles was directed by Loren Bouchard and Bernard Derriman. The mystery musical comedy was written by Bouchard, who also served as a producer, and the series’ showrunner, Nora Smith.
The Bob’s Burgers Movie begins when a ruptured water main creates an enormous sinkhole right in front of the titular restaurant, which blocks the entrance and indefinitely ruins the Belchers’ plans for a successful summer. While Bob and Linda (H. Jon Benjamin and John Roberts) struggle to keep the business afloat, their children – Tina (Dan Mintz), Gene (Eugene Mirman) and Louise (Kristen Schaal) – try to solve a mystery that may save their family’s restaurant. As the dangers mount, the family of underdogs help each other find hope and fight to get back behind the counter, where they belong.
The film is an amusing adaptation of the television series that faithfully pays tribute to the show’s character-driven storytelling, while also skillfully appealing to new audience members who aren’t as familiar with the source material. Bouchard and Smith created a high-stakes mystery adventure story that excitingly transforms the Belchers’ business model and overall view of the world, while also maintaining their signature quirky family relationships and dynamics.
Like on the television series, throughout the film Roberts infuses Linda with a carefree, light-hearted confidence that her family will find a way to repay their bank loan payment. Benjamin, meanwhile, maintains the franchise’s titular character’s cynical energy about how his family can overcome the dire circumstances they’ve found themselves in their community.
However, their children are all preoccupied with their own goals for the end of the school year to initially realize how dire of a situation their parents are in; Tina is mustering the courage to ask her crush Jimmy Jr. to become her summer boyfriend. Meanwhile, Gene dreams of playing some shows with his underappreciated band, The Itty Bitty Ditty Committee at their local waterfront amusement park, the Wonder Wharf.
But it’s the family’s youngest child, nine-year-old Louise, who’s the real stand-out hero of The Bob’s Burgers Movie, as she becomes driven to prove that she’s courageous and mature for her age. After becoming upset when her classmates ridicule her for still wearing her signature pink hat that she’s had since she was a toddle, she sets to prove to not only them, but most importantly, herself, that she’s grown-up. She sets out to solve the mystery surrounding their community that may close her family’s restaurant for good.
Besides the characters’ unique personality traits perfectly translating from the small screen to the big screen, the franchise’s film adaptation also perfectly translated the show’s visuals into its storyline. Bouchard and Derriman closely collaborated with the movie’s production designer, Ruben Hickman, whose background in light and shadow brought depth and dimension to the feature.
The distinct locations that Hickman recreated from the show for The Bob’s Burgers Movie help emphasize the dire circumstances that the Belchers now find themselves in. From the meager, close quarters of Bob’s Burgers to the drastically different, glamorous nature of the Wonder Wharf, which is located just several blocks away, the film’s settings are a constant reminder that the family must fight for survival amongst the rest of the successes in their community.
The feature’s creative team also successfully infused the story with a memorable musical score that was created by conductor Tim Davies. The musician, who brought in a full orchestra to record the music for The Bob’s Burgers Movie, utilized unique string instruments and drums to create a real-life aesthetic in the places the Belchers live and work in and visit. From the banging of Bob’s Burgers’ kitchen equipment to the clanking of the rides at the Wonder Wharf, the realistic background noises of the Belchers’ neighborhood also help immerse viewers in their latest adventure.
The Bob’s Burgers Movie is an amusing and memorable adaptation of the television series that will appeal to both fans of, and newcomers to, the franchise. With the help of distinct production design and a memorable musical score, Bouchard and Smith created a high-stakes mystery adventure story that perfectly pays tribute to the show’s signature family relationships and quirky character-driven storytelling.
20th Century Studios will release The Bob’s Burgers Movie arrives in theaters this Friday, May 27, 2022.
Grade: B+