SpongeBob Movie: Cinesite’s VFX Breakdown | Visual Effects

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants took the evergreen Nickelodeon 2D toon into a new dimension with a fresh 3D CG makeover for SpongeBob and his Bikini Bottom friends. It also brought the undersea scamp into the live-action surface world and provided plenty of opportunities for ghostly effects as SpongeBob sets out to prove to Mr. Krabs that he’s a “big guy” by facing the Flying Dutchman’s briny trials.

Produced by Nickelodeon for Paramount and directed by Derek Drymon, the latest feature film in the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise called more hands to the deck, including the Canadian team at Cinesite. The studio had previously delivered hybrid VFX and animation for The Smurfs movie earlier in 2025, as well as Space Jam: A New Legacy in 2021.

Cinesite delivered three main sequences for Search for SquarePantswhich involved a crossover between live action and the popular animated characters. The prologue, where we first meet the villainous Flying Dutchman (voiced by Mark Hamill) at sea, and two sequences on Santa Monica’s “Paradise” beaches, where a crazy rollercoaster ride leads to the film’s climax. The sequences required a quick integration with the production team and a speedy turnaround, with work beginning in July 2024 and delivering in May 2025.

Animation for the main body of the movie was delivered by Reel FX, so an initial onboarding session with that team established the film’s overall look and feel. Cinesite’s work would need to fit seamlessly in terms of style, and production designer Pablo Mayer was closely involved in establishing the consistency of the look. In reference to the original show, the work’s 2D graphic style featured strong silhouettes and little perspective shift — which presented a challenge when rendered in 3D amidst real world footage.

Cinesite was tasked with effects and animation for the Flying Dutchman’s pirate ship and the surrounding sea, ghostly green effects on the characters, elements like mist and bubbles, a three-headed seagull (previously seen in the fully animated series), building a digital roller coaster around Mark Hamill’s live-action performance in a full-sized car, and dynamic cartoon-style effects for the climactic, slaptsticky showdown on the Twisting Totem.

You can read more about Cinesite’s work on the film in their case study at cinesite.com.

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants is now available to buy or rent on Digital.