The Bob's Burgers Movie 2022

[7.7/10] Bob’s Burgers is hilarious when it’s being funny. Bob’s Burgers is infectious when it’s being musical. Bob’s Burgers is moving when it’s being heartfelt. And Bob’s Burgers is...fine when it’s being big and dramatic.

As goes the T.V. show, so goes the movie. The Belcher family’s leap to the big screen is full of the side-splitting one-liners and comic absurdity that the crew is known for. It features some boffo numbers that show off the creative team’s musical theater bona fides. And it digs deep into the bastion of support and encouragement that Bob, Linda, Tina, Gene, Louise, and even Teddy represent for one another, tugging at your heartstrings in the way only Bob’s Burgers can.

But this is also The Movie:tm:. So the outing has to fend off the usual accusation whenever a television show makes the jump to cinema -- “It’s just a big episode of the normal show.” To combat that, The Bob’s Burgers Movie introduces a grand murder conspiracy, a supervillain who threatens death and destruction, and an action-packed climax with a race against time. That is, after all, what movies do, right?

I can appreciate series creator Loren Bouchard, co-director Bernard Derriman, and co-writer Nora Smith wanting to go grand when translating the series to another medium. This certainly feels more epic than the average Belcher adventure. But that isn’t necessarily what I expect or want from the silly and exaggerated but still down-to-earth ecosystem of Bob’s Burgers.

The film is a spiritual successor to “How Bob Saves/Destroys the Town”, the two-part finale to the show’s fourth season. There too, you have a dynastic battle among the Fischoeders, grand plans to destroy and remake Wonder Wharf, and a dramatic set piece to save our heroes’ lives. It wasn’t the best outing of the series, if for no other reason than this lovably awkward family of misfits and their kooky friends and foils aren’t a natural fit for baroque conspiracies and explosive action. What held true for these characters in 2014 remains true in 2022.

The move to theaters does offer one more noteworthy change though -- a dramatic animation bump. The Belchers and their pals are shaded and depicted with more physical depths than fans have ever seen before. The movie plays with lighting in a way the show rarely does. And the animators go wild with wild, fluid motions for the characters. The added fluidity occasionally verges on the uncanny, but pays dividends in both the normal expressions of the characters and in the film’s many giddy dance sequences.

Music has been at the root of Bob’s Burgers for ages, and the movie embraces that. The opening number about the family’s hopes for summer, the carnies’ roundelay about who gets the short end of the stick, and a closing number by the “Itty Bitty Ditty Committee” are all infused with that decidedly raggedy but winningly enthusiastic charm that has always seen the show through. These big numbers come with creative stagings and movements for the characters, which take advantage of the added budget and feel more like a true cinematic escalation of the show’s authentic spirit than any of the convoluted schemes or deadly threats.

Even if those broader narrative swings are a touch out of character, they’re a solid excuse for more of the show’s mishegoss. The good news is that the move to a larger screen hasn’t dampened any of the show’s sense of humor. The one-liners and amiable weirdness that fuels the series remain intact and hilarious as ever. While the show’s expansive cast are mostly reduced to quick bits or funny aside, The Movie provides a nice sampling of the little community the Belchers occupy and all the amusing side characters who share it with them.

The focus here, though, is where it should be, on the Belchers’ nuclear family, with a side dish of “Uncle Teddy.” There’s something meaningful for everyone to do here. Though the execution isn’t always perfect, no one in the show’s main cast feels left behind, and each plays a part, both narratively, and emotionally, in the larger story of the film.

The main plot sees Bob and Linda behind on the business loan that allows them to hang onto their restaurant equipment. The prospect of one week to sell enough burgers to make their monthly payment and avoid repossession seems all the more daunting when a water main breaks and a giant hole opens up in front of their restaurant. In addition to the major stakes of whether Bob’s Burgers will continue as a going concern and, with it, the Belchers’ livelihood, there’s an emotional component to all of this, with Bob’s “droopiness’ requiring Linda’s sunny and hopeful disposition to help keep him from wallowing in the doldrums.

Meanwhile, Tina wrestles with whether to offer Jimmy Jr. her “beret-lace” to cinch their summer courtship, or if she’s infatuated with an idealized version of her young beau rather than the real deal. Gene invents a new instrument out of spoons, rubberbands, and a napkin holder, but has unexpected insecurities over whether folks will like his music. And Louise puts up a tough front, but frets over whether she’s truly brave or, as she fears, “a baby”, something tied to the rabbit ears she wears as something of a security blanket.

If that's all The Bob’s Burgers Movie had on offer, it would still be great. Teddy cobbling together a mobile cart to help Bob and Linda make ends meet, while fleeing from the ire of the carnies, feels like the kind of outsized but relatable enough bits the T.V. show pulls off on a regular basis. The Belcher kids fretting about crushes, finding self-confidence, and reaffirming their identities as they grow up is part of the superb block and tackle of the show. There’s potential and promise in each of these story threads, and the movie does well with most of them.

Somewhere along the way, though, The Movie gets caught up in those cinema sized things, and neglects some of the simpler or more relatable elements it sets up. Tina and Gene’s arcs in particular seem tacked onto the Fischoeder murder plot, and don’t gain or lose much from intersecting with the film’s A-plot. Even Bob and Linda’s substantial money troubles and emotional struggles take a backseat to car chases and stopping explosions after a while.

But eventually, the show reverts back to the heart that made it great. However awkwardly appended to the main narrative, a returned beret-lace leads to a sweet kiss between Tina and her Jimmy Jr. in real life, and Gene receives a wholesome bit of encouragement from his dad before rocking Wonder Wharf’s semi-renovated bandstand. Teddy gets his moment in the sun too, melting a bit when Bob thanks him for helping the Belchers get through a tough situation.

The real meat of the show’s sentiment, though, comes for the other three members of the main cast. An implausible but desperate situation cracks Linda’s spirit, forcing Bob to be the sunny one, something that not only makes him appreciate his wife’s indefatigable optimism, but understand how it might be less than fun to have to reassure him. It turns both of them around right when they need it.

And he also retells the origin story of Louise’s ears. It disabuses Bob’s youngest daughter of the notion that it was a security blanket necessary for her to feel brave, explaining that it was, in fact, a reward for how brave she already was after her first day in preschool, giving Louise the affirmation she needs to be bold and courageous in the crisis du jour. More than that, Bob draws a line between Louise and his mother, a missing link on the Belcher family tree, adding a generational connection of hope and grit to get their family out of...trouble.

Why such wholesome and earned setniment needs to be mixed in with lit fuses and attempted murder is beyond me. It’s not what Bob’s Burgers does best. The demands of a cinematic upgrade contort the vibe of the show a bit to fit into something expected of feature-length films.

But the core of these characters, their world, and the sensibility that comes with each remains great and accounted for in this long-awaited big screen berth. These characters are still uproariously funny and endearing, and the show’s weird, winning worldview hasn’t been diluted. The musical bent that's long buoyed the show is out in full force. And the uplifting, supportive, above all earned sentiment among the Belchers persists no matter how wild their adventures get.

The Bob’s Burgers Movie tries to do a few things that aren’t necessary or called for from this off-kilter but loving family. But it also continues to do what the Belchers and company have always done well -- make us laugh, tap our toes, and gush -- without losing a step in the move from one screen to another.