This page details pre-release information and/or media for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox).

To do: Backlog Cover differences in prerelease images. Find the source of prerelease images in the Unsorted section.

After the success of Battle for Bikini Bottom, Heavy Iron returned to develop the next annual SpongeBob video game, this time based on The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.

This game was met with positive reception and is just as well-regarded as the previous game, despite taking some gameplay liberties here and there.

Development Timeline#

2004

• Apr. 7 - A video game based on the then-upcoming SpongeBob SquarePants Movie is slated for release in fall of 2004¹.
• May 11-14 - The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie video game was unveiled at E3 2004.
• Jul. 27 - Review sites are given a first look at the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie video game.
• Oct. 27 - The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie video game was released.

Early Development#

Concept Art#

To do: Upload the rest of the concept art from the game.

Costumes#

The in-game concept art for SpongeBob and Patrick shows that they had seven costumes that didn't make it past the concept stage, four for SpongeBob and three for Patrick.

SpongeBob	Patrick

Scrapped costumes for SpongeBob:

• Viking (from the episode "Bubble Buddy")
• Patrick's clothes swap
• A 3D DoodleBob (from the episode "Frankendoodle")
• Leatherman outfit

Scrapped costumes for Patrick:

• Latex gimp suit
• SpongeBob's clothes swap (from the episode "Big Pink Loser")
• Barnacle Boy

Levels#

Now That We're Men#

Concept Art	Final

• The tiki crates from Battle for Bikini Bottom can be seen in the background.
• Mindy was meant to appear in-person, rather than using the clamshell.
• SpongeBob looks a lot smoother.
• The lights were much brighter.
• The skybox appears to have been cropped from this promo art.

May#

E3 2004#

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie game was unveiled at E3 2004.

Screenshots#

Rub a Dub Dub, Slip Slide in the Tub

Pre-release	Final

• The tub was supposed to have a shower head, as opposed to the faucet used in the final game. The shower head can still be seen in the texture for the tub.
• The level used the normal skybox instead of the desert one.
• A strange green and blue block can be seen in the background, possibly meant to be a placeholder for one of the rocks in the level.
• The targets use an image of Plankton instead of the bulls-eye design in the final game, cropped from a Chum Bucket advertisement in Battle for Bikini Bottom. The same texture can be found in the attract video.
  • The final game uses the texture in the level "Sundae Driving" as a picture frame on the wall.

Sundae Driving

Pre-release	Final

• The level is in a very early state, with several unfinished models and missing objects.
• The level's shading seems to be a work in progress.
• Almost every texture used in the level geometry is low quality.
• The yellow sand in the background is absent.
• The top line on Patrick's forehead is to be much thicker than the final game.
• A fence using a temp texture is present in front of the finish line, the final game uses a gate with a candy-cane pattern.
• The Goofy Goober statue is low-poly and untextured. The statue also has a bigger lollipop and is wearing its hat instead of holding it.
• Level decorations like bushes and rocks are absent.
• The water fountain is untextured and doesn't have any water being sprayed from it.
• The barriers on the ground have a pattern resembling piano keys, the final game replaces it with a candy-cane pattern.
• All crates in the level seem to be missing, though it is possible (albeit unlikely) that the player destroyed them before taking the screenshot.
• The tunnel on the right is missing its wooden trim and ceiling.
• The background has two statues that look like Icee slushies, the final game changed the statues to resemble milkshakes instead.
• The background has an ice cream cone on the left that seems to be using a temp texture.
• There's a glowing black square in the background on the left.

Videos#

Watch on YouTube

• The E3 2004 demo featured three levels: "Sundae Driving", "Rub a Dub Dub, Slip Slide in the Tub," and the first "Combat Arena Challenge" (lining up with unused Main Menu text, although it doesn't seem that "Now That We're Men" made the cut). Similar to the post-release demo, they were played consecutively, made apparent by the Manliness Point tally carrying over to each level played.
• Voice acting is missing in this build, resulting in all characters remaining in their idle animations.
• The red cheese error on the Patty Wagon is present.
• Sundae Driving is a lot more barren and appears to be missing some parts of the background geometry at this point.
• There's a typo with Patrick's dialogue in the E3 2004 footage, where the text says "site" rather than "sight".
• The first upgrade threshold is 1000 Manliness Points rather than 250
  • These thresholds can be restored by deleting the defaults found in SB04.INI.
• Like with the below screenshots, the tub in "Rub a Dub Dub, Slip Slide in the Tub" has a showerhead. The footage also showcases a different, more exaggerated double jump animation.
• Rather than Jellyfish Fields, the combat arena instead takes place in what would become "I'll Let You Pet Mr. Whiskers". There is no enemy counter present, either.
• After defeating enough enemies, a "Godlike-Combo" message pops up and rewards 100 Manliness Points. This combo level is renamed to "Managerly-Smash!" in the final game.

circa. Summer#

This peculiar screenshot from Sandwich Driving 101 is grouped with the later July screenshots, but it clearly doesn't match up with the finalized layout in comparison to other images.

Pre-release	Final

• A placeholder model is used for the fountain.
• Several objects in the background can be seen using the placeholder "TEMP" texture.
• The skybox is orange.
• The bulldozer on the road is seen using a yellow placeholder box.
• The dirt and barrier by the fountain also use placeholder models.
• A few buildings were changed.
• An early version of the nitro boost can be seen on a road in the background.
• The level lacked some proper lighting.

July#

Hands-On Build#

New screenshots were released on July 26, 2004 where various video game review sites did hands-on previews of the video game.

Sandwich Driving 101#

This page or section needs more images. There's a whole lotta words here, but not enough pictures. Please fix this. Specifically: Upload images from the final game as comparison

Pre-release	Final

• The Krusty Krab sign was darkened.
• Rocks and plants were added.
• Flower clouds were added.
• The rock arch was reshaped.

Pre-release	Final

• The bulldozer was moved off of the dirt pile.

Pre-release	Final

• Differences go here.

Pre-release	Final

• Differences go here.

Rub a Dub Dub, Slip Slide in the Tub#

Pre-release	Final

• The shower head on the bathtub is now completely replaced with a faucet as in the final.

Now That We're Men#

Pre-release	Final

• Differences go here.

Pre-release	Final

• The resting rotation for hitting the paddlewheel was changed
  • The paddlewheels in the final level were changed to platform mechanisms.
• The monster entrance could be seen
  • The LOD was higher, even compared to the Xbox version.

Pre-release	Final

• The shading used for the background is much harsher than in the final game.

Pre-release	Final

Pre-release	Final

• The Sonic Wave guitar is untextured.

Shell City, Dead Ahead#

Pre-release	Final

• Rocks were moved deeper into the ground.
• Fireflies were added

Pre-release	Final

• A car light was added
• Ground details (newspaper, plants) were added

Pre-release	Final

• Car lights added
• Fireflies added
• LOD for Plankton TV was increased
• A strange piece of scrap metal was removed in the final game (top right corner).

August#

Early August Builds#

New videos were released on August 13, 2004.

IGN Gameplay#

Watch on YouTubeThere are a few gameplay videos on IGN's YouTube channel, the following video is a compilation of clips in Three...Thousand Miles to Shell City and Rub a Dub Dub, Slip Slide in the Tub.

• The Flinger in the first few clips isn't textured.
• When the Flinger attacks, the sizzling sound that normally plays is absent.
• The B button on the text box is a little smaller than the final version.
• The text for the upgrade point goes beyond the bottom of the text box.
• The jumping sound in "Rub a Dub Dub, Slip Slide in the Tub" is different.
• Some of the level geometry in "Rub a Dub Dub, Slip Slide in the Tub" is incomplete; this is most noticeable at the beginning.
• The road signs in "Rub a Dub Dub, Slip Slide in the Tub" give off green particles when destroyed. The final game changes the particle color to white.
• The Targets in the stage now use their finalized designs.

Late August Builds#

Bubble Blowing Baby Hunt#

This screenshot is dated August 20, 2004.

Pre-release	Final

• This level also seems to be missing some proper lighting.
• Breakables appear to be entirely absent.
• The floor in the bar area reused the metal texture seen throughout the level.
• The level is missing extra details and decals.
• The bar stools, tables, and barrels were redone.
• The bar had a purple checkered texture applied.
• The button to activate the door was moved to the left.
• Foggers use an early design from "Welcome to Planktopolis... Minions".
• The top-left side of the wall has a large hole in it, which itself has a tiny blue object in it.

circa. Fall#

SBAttr#

The attract-trailer used in the final game contain a staggering amount of differences. This is the best possible development timeframe due to the differences in the earlier and later builds.

Two versions of this attract-trailer exist, one for English and another for non-English releases.

General Differences#

• Some areas have low lighting.
• For some reason, all of SpongeBob's props are rendered and attached to him in the Spinner cutscene for "Bubble Blowing Baby Hunt", including an earlier version of the Sonic Wave guitar, an untextured karate helmet and bubble wand leftover from Battle for Bikini Bottom.

No Cheese!#

Pre-release	Final

• There were three buttons to press instead of just one.
• A floating platform is in the place of the sliding rock.
• The first upgrade point was originally 200 manliness points.

Pre-release	Final

• There were no vehicles.
• Mr. Krabs was absent.
• There was an extra coral tree behind the Krusty Krab.
• The skybox was a brighter blue.

I'm Ready... Depression#

• An area that appears to be the balcony with the first Slammer includes objects that were later moved to the bottom of the level.
• Placeholder picture frames are found in the scene where Patrick throws a Goofy Goober Fogger. These are used in the "Sundae Driving" level of the final game.
  • Oddly, the models of these picture frames in the final game still use their placeholder names (e.g. "painting_battleforbb_regular", "painting_chumbucket", "painting_coralcola_title").

Rub a Dub Dub, Slip Slide in the Tub#

• The targets use an image of Plankton instead of the final game's bulls-eye. The final game still has remnants of this in Mindy's dialogue. The Plankton image was reused from the Chum Bucket advertisements in Battle for Bikini Bottom.

Bubble Blowing Baby Hunt#

• The flooring at the starting area now matches the final.
• Yellow box placeholders are used for the floating buttons, and the player could apparently hit them without standing on the pressure plate by using an upgraded throw move.

Rock Slide#

• SpongeBob and Patrick don't have their seaweed "mustaches", and the shell has water in it; the water can still be seen in the shell's texture. They also have different animations for jumping.
• The monster cannons originally shot toilets instead of goo balls, possibly as placeholders. The final game uses the toilets in the level "Name's Dennis".

Turn the Tables on Plankton#

• The background fish didn't have bucket helmets at one point, and Frozen Mr. Krabs used a different texture.

Unsorted Differences#

• There are shirtless Planktopolis Foggers in "Bubble Blowing Baby Hunt" (which seems to be from an earlier version, as it's using different textures for the main area) and "Welcome to Planktopolis... Minions", likely as placeholders while their models were being finished.
  • That being said, a Thug Fogger appears near the end of the attract trailer in a more finalized "Bubble Blowing Baby Hunt", suggesting that some scenes in the trailer were recorded in different builds.
• The "P" icon that indicates an available upgrade point is a simple blue box with a white "P", as opposed to a yellow star with a red "P" in the final game.
• SpongeBob and Patrick still have their jumping sound effects from Battle for Bikini Bottom, while the final game would use new ones.
• The nitro is called turbo, and the icon doesn't rotate at the bottom of the screen.
• Driving levels appeared to have some sort of moveable camera at some point. This was likely removed because the Patty Wagon models for SpongeBob and Patrick don't have legs, which would've been noticeable if they bumped into something.
• The Goofy Goober token icon had unfinished lighting, making it look like a chip-figure.
• The empty bubbles from Battle for Bikini Bottom's health bar are visible when health is missing, as opposed to greyed out Krabby Patties.
• The sound effect for breaking crates is slightly different.
• The Sonic Wave Guitar originally still used the same sound as the Cruise Bubble from Battle for Bikini Bottom.
• The Patty Wagon falls a lot slower than it does in the final game.

Manual Build#

Extras Menu#

Pre-release	Final

• There is no visible "return" option.
• There were 40 extras instead of 42. The menu was redone to accommodate this.
  • The two additional extras were likely the film trailers, since the selected video in the pre-release image is titled "Story 1" instead of "Film Trailer 1".
• The order of the extras was rearranged.
• Six costumes were available instead of four.

October#

New images were uploaded on October 15, 2004.

Late Build Images#

Rock Slide#

Pre-release	Final

• Differences go here.

I'll Let You Pet Mr. Whiskers...#

Pre-release	Final

• Differences go here.

Welcome to Planktropolis...Minions#

Pre-release	Final

Pre-release	Final

• Differences go here.

Unsorted

Pre-Release Images#

No Cheese!#

• The level used a daytime skybox instead of a dusk one.
• The level lacks some proper lighting.
• The collapsing platform is missing.
• The wooden platform underneath the springboard is also missing.
• The springboard itself is in a different spot and faces the opposite direction.

I'm Ready... Depression#

• The lighting is brighter overall.
• Part of the left-side's floor is missing its texture.
• The ice cream lights are darker.
• The picture frames are missing, as are the ropes of ice cream lights above the bar.
• The back-right of the room has two crates that were replaced by barrels in the final game.
• Part of the stairs' model is missing, causing the untextured floor to be visible through them.
• The shadow under the balcony is absent.

References#