Continuing on from Series 12 of the popular TV series, The Bob’s Burgers Movie tells us more of the story that started in 2011. The Belcher family continue to run the tasty burger restaurant; however, life for the family and the restaurant could be better. The Belchers have fallen behind on their repayments to the point they are now forced to request an extension from the bank. The bank finds Bob’s request laughable, even more so when Bob (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin) offers a tasty burger he cooked for the staff member as a gesture of goodwill. The Belchers will lose their beloved restaurant unless they can come up with serious cash over the next few days.
Bob’s wife, Linda (voiced by John Roberts), is filled with determination, driving Bob to continue cooking many burgers and trying to attract many customers. However, things keep getting worse, and a massive sinkhole opens up directly outside Bob’s Burgers, preventing customers from entering the front door. Bob is now at the point where he feels there is nothing more he can do to save the restaurant. Thankfully, Bob and Linda’s children, Tina (Dan Mintz), Louise (Kristen Schaal), and Gene (Eugene Mirman), decide to investigate the mysterious sinkhole. They make a major discovery, unearthing a possibly unsolved murder case! Can the Belchers save their restaurant and uncover the truth about a mysterious murder that occurred many years ago?
In case you’re not aware, Bob’s Burgers is an animation feature, and naturally, if you’re a fan of the hit TV series, you’ll have a blast with this film. While I can’t call myself a hard-core fan of the series, I have watched many episodes and found the show to be rather clever with its style of humour, especially the random one-liners. The film introduces a brand-new plot with many returning characters and various cameos. The only downfall for those who are not hard-core fans of the series is that some characters in the film might not resonate as well for some viewers (including myself).
I loved how this film shows the Belchers in their worst moments where nothing seems to be going right for them. Another aspect I wasn’t expecting was the introduction of a murder mystery, which I felt was a nice and entertaining concept. The comedy is great. While the film doesn’t deliver any major moments that had me laughing loudly, I found myself consistently chuckling at various gags, including the fast-paced and snappy dialogue among the leads.
The animation here is strong, and I enjoyed everything on display. Bright and sharp colours are used for the entire duration, which reminded me of The Simpsons: Movie, released by the same studio. There were various random musical numbers scattered throughout, which were generally exciting, but lost their finesse by the second and third acts.
Overall, lovers of the popular TV series will rejoice with a combination of joy and laughter at this feature. That being said, even if you’re not overly familiar with the show, there are still plenty of fun and random gags to be witnessed, even if you don’t resonate with all the easter eggs or main characters. The animation is quite strong, sharp and colourful, and the musical numbers are surprising, but I found they lose their finesse after a while. Either way, I found The Bob’s Burgers Movie to be a rather tasty release, and the film left me feeling joyfully keen to return to the series where I left off.
7.2/10
31st July 2022
Written by Peter Walkden
WALKDEN ENTERTAINMENT
PODCASTS ARE AVAILABLE!
