If you haven't seen the movie yet, don't click on the link! Just a PSA!
Well...that was something. That was really something regarding this movie. So I was in the movie on the day of the premiere, well, the night of the premiere this past Thursday before the official date of release. All expenses paid of course. And if you saw it by now when coming across this article from my social media pages, mostly with my spoiler-free thoughts on the night of the premiere, everyone should see it. You should definitely see it. Go do it if you somehow make it here and not read the title of the piece. If you haven’t seen the movie and somehow came here, what the hell are you doing? Go purchase a ticket and get your butt over to the theater.
Again, full of spoilers, so if you don’t want to be spoiled, look away, buy a ticket, and watch the film. That being said, let’s get to the review and unlike with my usual episode reviews where I go from start to finish with each plot and break things down, I might as well go old school and pick certain moments piece by piece. Again, full of spoilers. That’s the last time I will say this. But that being said, let’s get to the review of The Bob’s Burgers Movie. And also note that the screencaps I will be using for this review are from the trailer and NOT the actual film itself. Because there’s no torrent. So just a heads up. These are from the trailer...and also some from past episodes. Now let’s get to the review.
I might as well get this out of the way and what I think worked well to keep the film steady and who has to carry the film on their back, it has to be Louise. Yeah, there’s no contest. This is pretty much The Louise Show with the movie despite the subplot with her and her siblings solving the mystery that would save their home and parents’ business pretty much tells you that she stole the spotlight and to be perfectly honest, I agree. This was Louise’s time to shine despite her investigation was the B-plot of the film before both plots come together as one later in the film and holy shit, it did not disappoint. I mean, yeah, there’s some stuff that didn’t happen like the one moment where she does the dead man’s flip at the end of the film that resulted in her losing her hat for a bit, and also some moments that I wish we could’ve got but at the end of the day...say what y’all want about her growing soft and getting sick and tired of her learning lessons each time there’s a Louise episode, the latter part which I get because it has become formulaic and repetitive, but also stale, Louise has pretty much done the impossible in this movie and holy crap, it did not disappoint. She did not disappoint.
And all it took to get her to take the spotlight and make it all about herself, and we’ll get to the others once we get there, was for the trigger to be pulled. Case in point, during recess when Louise was asked by Harley to jump in to do the dead’s man jump where she, Abby, and Chloe are about to do a flip over the lifts without injuring themselves. Of course, things became really personal with Louise when Chloe calls her a “baby” for not wanting to do it because it would result in her losing her ears and that’s more than enough for her in wanting to rip the shit out of Chloe.
It’s to the point where she has to talk with her toys, sorry, collectibles as she said about the issue with Chloe regarding her ears and why she never took them off. One of the many burning questions that the fandom wants answers and we got em...er, some. We got some. We found out that Louise got her ears on her first day of preschool and was afraid of going inside. Not because of her being away from her parents, which is the usual thing preschoolers would react to on their first day and being away from their parents, but because she would be afraid of what people would think of her. Which ultimately led to her getting her ears from Linda, solidifying that Linda was the one who gave her the ears and the rest became history for Louise with her ears. Of course, it would take a while later in the film once the Belchers became trapped inside the sinkhole where we get the full reveal of the origins of the hat.
Enough for her courtesy of the melted Kuchi Kopi that Linda badly damaged back in “Flu-ouise” to prove Louise’s case that she’s not a baby by going down to the sinkhole and finding something that caused the sinkhole to erupt with Tina and Gene sitting by the sidelines and we’ll get to them later on into the review. Oh, Louise did find something in the sinkhole alright. Pretty much the phrase “Hey kids, wanna see a dead body” to a literal meaning when finding an actual dead body hidden inside the very thing that plagued the restaurant as of late.
And you have to give Louise some credit for what she’s doing and how she performed in the film. She’s doing her best once she found the dead body just to prove to everyone, especially Chloe, that she’s not a baby. That she can be brave even with the hat on her head. And yeah, you could consider this as the same thing as the two-parter that we had recently with Tina’s self-esteem being destroyed by Tammy and Jocelyn over the shirt that she got and now it might as well be deja vu with Louise dealing the brunt from Chloe for refusing to partake in the trend and also refusing to let her ears go. And again, she did her best to carry the film on her back once she launches the investigation of the murder that resulted in Fischoeder being wrongfully convicted.
The investigation once she and her siblings decide to skip school and get to the bottom of what happened on the night of the murdered carnie about six years ago, again, you might as well consider this as either the subplot to the film or a side story because it intertwines with the main plot with Bob and Linda trying to keep the place open and making ends meet, but again, Louise pretty much stole the show on this one. They went to lengths after being unable to get the cops, primarily Sergeant Bosco, to do the job and I get that it’s early, but still. They went to a village filled with carnival workers with shit working and housing conditions that might as well rival the harsh conditions over at Amazon. Even Jeff Bezos would look at that and say, “Hmm...not harsh enough.” But at least they got some leads to the cold case from one of the carnies who was there the night of the murder and thinks that Felix was the one who carried out the murder...or so we thought.
Now the origins of Louise’s ears once the Belchers are trapped inside the sinkhole after being chased by the antagonist of the film later in the film. And boy, this pretty much answers two of our questions out of the many from the list of questions. The origins of Louise’s ears is one of the questions being answered but also, Bob’s dead mom. So it was revealed that Linda was the one who gave her the ears back when Louise was about to enter preschool. We got that out of the way and pretty much tells you that Louise has some insecurities and also being possessive with the headwear as if it’s a security blanket like she’s Linus from the Peanuts comics.
But Bob’s mom is something that was expected to be answered though not a lot to be answered about...oh I don’t know, anything. At least we got a face reveal, so that’s something. But Bob’s mom was revealed. A full face reveal also from the flashback with Big Bob’s story back in “Interview with a Pop-pop-pire”, is quite the improvement from how we get there. But we got a full face reveal on what she looks like in Bob’s memory, showing a four-year-old version of him at the park with his deceased mother and wearing a beanie on her head. And what’s so sentimental about this is that in an attempt to cheer Louise up while trying to escape from the sinkhole. Because the ears on Louise’s head the moment Linda puts them onto her head resembles his dead mom as if she’s still alive in memory. I mean yeah, we didn’t get a full backstory of who she is like her personality, and what the family between her, Bob, and Big Bob was like before her passing. Hell, how she died would’ve been explained. So much for that speculation of having Bob visiting his father and that would result in a backstory, but that’s more than we can take regarding her identity and what she looks like. And what sucks about this with her dying young is that she never got the chance to see what her son is doing nor does seeing her grandkids. So the idea of Bob seeing Louise with the hat on and him reminiscing about his dead mom almost feels like he’s a kid again and has gotten to spend time with her. Like grandmother, like granddaughter, amirite? Also, the fact that Linda was the one who made the ears, is also a surprising reveal. So there goes a lot of people’s predictions of the ears being store-bought.
And I did say that Louise has to carry the movie on her back because she did. Look at me, sounding like a Louise apologist, but despite the calling of names from Chloe and having her insecurities being shown in the spotlight with her ears being the center of attention, mind you that she singlehandedly saved the restaurant. She did. Sure, she had some help and all leading up to who the murderer is and also the moment where the culprit gets caught red-handed leading up to the final two minutes of the movie, but man, this little nine-year-old just did the impossible to save everything. She stops a damn fuse from blowing up the Wharf from the Mole Hill ride with various stuffed animals as flammable firecrackers. And she does so with the hat. Though you’d think that with Gene questioning his performance skills and Tina being unable to get the confidence that she needed to ask Jimmy Jr out to be her summer boyfriend in the climax of the film while being at the Fischoeders’ secret hideout is where I would expect that this might be the part where Louise may have proved Chloe’s point to be correct and decides to take off the hat and would remain off for the entirety of the movie until the final few minutes of it. That would probably answer that question of what’s under it. We didn’t get that.
But Louise did all of that all with the hat on as she and the rest of the Belchers save the day by stopping the fuse from going all explodey boom to demolish the Wharf. Pretty much proved the haters to go fuck themselves. She stopped the explosion. She solved the mystery and saved her parents’ restaurant. I know that people question why Louise even got the MVP title for last season despite...well, knowing her episodes, her learning a lesson, the girl really shines and I got to admit, she deserves it. All I got to say about Louise in this movie is that she got her cake and she can eat it too.
Though...yeah, might as well get this out of the way. The last remaining part of the film with Louise doing the dead man jump after gaining the confidence following solving the mystery. Mostly once she did the jump and perfectly make a landing that results in her losing her ears and being shown to the entire student body along with Mr. Frond and Ms. LaBonz. Yeah, I was one of those people who were at the theater the day it came out, rather the night of the premiere, and I was like “Oh come on!” when seeing that moment and not having Louise’s full set of hair being revealed to the masses. It almost feels like Bouchard’s way of saying that we’re getting some answers to our questions in the film and we only got some. Not a lot. But some. And what’s under Louise’s hat and see what’s her head looks like underneath is one of those things. Really pulled an “Ed Edd n Eddy: Big Picture Show” move onto us with the hat identity. Because the same thing happened to the character of Double D because his hat was questioned by the fans much like with Louise. And the movie would’ve given us some answers, but lol nope. You ain’t getting it. Even though I gave Louise some benefits of the doubt and gave her the praise that she deserves for what she did from proving that she’s not a baby to saving her family’s restaurant from shutting down...at least show her head. At least a peak. Speaking of which, wasn’t there a song by Schaal regarding her ears that would tie in with the film? I know it’s available on Spotify and YouTube for y’all to listen to, but...seriously though?! I guess all hope lies with the deleted scenes of the film once it hits DVD and Blu-ray and hopefully streams later into the summer.
Of course, it ain’t The Bob’s Burgers Movie without...who else? Bob and also Linda. Who was hoping to get an extension on the loan to keep the place open by the bank and hoping that the next seven days, especially with the Wharf’s 80th-anniversary event taking place, would be the perfect time for Bob and Linda to make some bank to keep the business alive. And of course, Linda being Linda, trying to be optimistic and make sure that nothing negative can come their way for the next seven days. Too bad that the universe decides to fuck shit up, places their hand on Bob’s shoulder, and says to him, “Hey. Do you want to keep your place open? Are you feeling miserable that you have a week to make ends meet? See that sidewalk over there? Oh, I’m gonna open it and cause you even more misery.” And thus, the sinkhole erupts. All this built up from the previous season of looking at the cracks in various episodes and a few random characters almost falling flat on their faces all lead up to this. Open like a peanut.
Though we did get a flashback to Bob and Linda on the second day of the seven-day countdown doom and gloom-fest while they’re both in bed and while Louise was listening in to the conversation, which set things up for the investigation after seeing a dead body, as well as hearing the news of Fischoeder being arrested for a crime that he didn’t even commit, in hopes to save the restaurant and their home, where we had to transition to possibly 13-14 years ago in the past because you have a young Linda holding her stomach as a young Bob show her the empty building that will soon become the restaurant. Note that I said 13-14 years ago because Linda was carrying Tina just as Bob is about to rent out the place. And if you remember that in the subplot in “FOMO You Didn’t” that Bob isn’t the first one who rented out the building because you have Violet, who was the previous tenant of the place who ran a donut shop before moving out. So it was a nice little interesting detail while learning more about the restaurant and the place that Bob, Linda, and later the kids would call home leading up to them going the full nine yards to rescue the place. And hopefully, we can learn more about the building’s history and also the Belchers’ family past when the kids were young in future episodes.
Of course, that ultimately lead to the next day where while the kids are skipping school to investigate the death of a Wonder Wharf employee and find out who’s responsible to clear their landlord’s name is where Teddy introduces Bob and Linda to a mobile grill cart and it looks like Bob has no other choice but to do it if he wants to pay off the loan despite the concerns of them not having a license. Though you have Linda wearing Gene’s burger suit with a bikini attached and that’s pretty much what the ads have been focusing on leading up to the release of the film. Her being the marketing department to help Bob and Teddy to make burgers and make some money to help the restaurant. Well...it worked in both getting the burgers to the public and also our butts into the theater seats. I mean there has to be something to promote the film and Linda in a burger suit has to be one of them. Well along with figures and whatnot. At least Teddy, like Linda, is supportive of the cause in hopes to help save the restaurant while it’s being patched up from the sinkhole. At least it’s not the shark that caused it. So thank God for that.
Sure, it was expected that the Belchers and Teddy are going to sell by the Wharf and later into the amusement park while hoping to not get caught by Ron and Hugo in their brief time in the film, only to be chased around by the carnies because they’re stealing the customers away from their booths. But it brought in a few things. One is don’t fuck around with carnies. The other being Bob and Linda while trying not to get caught and be thrown out leads up to the two plots of the film conjoining together once they noticed the kids’ bikes and get involved in the investigation right after the killer revealed himself. A bit dragged out but at least it deserves some merits like expanding the horizon of the Wharf like how you would see in your normal amusement park on the pier. Speaking of the killer in the film...
Who had Grover Fischoeder being the one to pull the trigger six years ago from the present of the year the show is set? Not I. Nor anyone who had him being the culprit behind the murder. I know there’s like a tiny slice of the pie who knew that it would be Grover but beyond all else, no one had him being the suspect. Mostly because when the Belchers heard the news that Calvin got arrested (and later bailed) for something that he didn’t even do like murdering the carnie that Louise found from the sinkhole. And if Calvin gets locked up, there goes the Belchers’ home. Plus, when the kids figure it out that it would be Felix, I mean...it’s uh...probably 50/50 on what makes sense and what doesn’t of accusing Felix of doing the crime. I mean, you’re talking about someone who usually doesn’t like to be behind his brother’s shadow. Sure, he almost let Bob and Calvin drown that one time after failing to get him to sell the Wharf, but here’s the kicker about this with the kids first thinking that Felix was the one who did it. Because that’s the most obvious when naming the suspect. Especially once the kids got their lead from one of the carnies that followed them, talk about stranger danger, and make their way to the treehouse to find some evidence but are unable to find some other than him dressing up as a sailor and making his way towards Cuba while talking to Fanny, who apparently got out of prison for some reason. At least Jordan Peele reprised his role in the character even though he backed away from the acting role and takes up the director’s chair. But still, having Felix or Fanny being the suspect and pitting the blame onto Calvin seems to be the easy way out.
Grover on the other was a surprise that came out of nowhere when noticing the pin on his wrist collar when Louise look at the photos on the wall of the Fischoeders and also the bite marks on Grover’s arm. I mean seriously, the guy only appeared in two episodes, and out of nowhere, he’s the murderer of a random carnie after getting into an argument and had trouble getting rid of the body. Hence, why it ended up buried deep underground in front of the restaurant...by being picked up by a DOT construction worker, hence the skeletal remains of the body that Louise found with some of its teeth landing onto her mouth...yeah, don’t want to get into full details about that.
But the idea of Grover being the murderer after only appearing for two episodes was surprising when seeing the revelation thanks to Louise putting two and two together. Sure, it came out of nowhere and the idea of someone who only appeared in only two episodes seems like a random idea but here’s the kicker. Apparently, while talking through the Discord chat about the revelation, it almost feels like this was planned from the start. It almost feels like they planned this during Grover’s two appearances in the series. “Roamin’ Bob-iday” and “Copa Bob-bana”, the two episodes in that Grover appeared, there are some clues about him leading up to the film that we didn’t even notice. Didn’t see the writing on the wall. We were too focused on the sidewalk that we didn’t even notice about Grover and his actions. And if that’s the idea that they went during the production...genius. It’s fucking genius. Because they’ve done their best to make sure that the reveal of the killer doesn’t turn predictable by putting labels onto Felix or Fanny when framing Calvin to get the Wharf, but Grover? Wow...just...wow. Loren, you fucking genius.
Though his motive of why he’s doing it by framing his cousin to do the crime, and later having him and Felix be trapped underwater in an unmovable submarine pretty much feels like we’re taking the playbook from the Season 4’s finale of getting the Wharf and want to do fuck all with it. With Felix in Season 4, he wanted to transform the Wharf into a lot to build in the condos in hopes to impress Fanny and possibly slide into her DMs. Grover, in his part in the movie, wants to improve the Wharf...by turning it into an outdoor mall by the shore. And he can’t do that without getting Calvin’s will to get the plan into motion other than already setting up the detonation inside the Mole Hill ride. Whether getting him convicted or leaving the guy to suffocate...man, there is something off about the Fischoeders about wanting to do murder. Especially onto Calvin. And now Grover’s in jail thanks in part to Louise stopping the fuse and Teddy calling in the police to arrest the guy by the gym. The last place you would expect when capturing a criminal.
Other moments from the movie, while Louise pretty much stole the spotlight with Bob and the Fischoeders coming in clutch to share it, not forgetting about Linda and Teddy, can’t forget about Gene and Tina. So with Gene and his side story...it’s a side story. The Belcher kids at the beginning of the film have their plans set for the summer. With Tina, it’s wanting Jimmy Jr to be her summer boyfriend (we’ll get to her soon) before the school year ends. With Louise, it’s pretty much anything at bay with her proving Chloe to shut it about her hat and saving the restaurant by investigating a murder pretty much serves as a preview. Leaving Gene for his summer plans in wanting to perform with him building his own instrument that is made out of plastic spoons and a napkin dispenser. And also want to perform with the Itty Bitty Ditty Committee, bringing in some continuity from Season 5 when bringing up the band from the episode of the same name. The band of course consisted of him, Louise, Tina, Rudy, Darryl, and Peter.
And the Wharf’s 80th-anniversary celebration when looking at the atrium during the investigation would be the perfect spot for him to perform despite that he won’t be the headliner for the event. I mean all the kid ever want to do was to play music and even though his little side story gets shelved by the cold case in an attempt to save the restaurant, at least there’s some conclusion in his end of the bargain where he and everyone else, including the Fischeoders, to perform in the event. Not a huge crowd but at least he got his moment in the spotlight. But he wasn’t the only Belcher to have his side story to be shelved on the sidelines because of the Louise plot.
You also have Tina in her conquest to have a summer romance. Doing an ol’ Mabel Pines in hopes to land herself a boyfriend. Most importantly, Jimmy Jr before the school year ends. And the item that is pretty much the plot device for her throughout the movie is, of course, the necklace that she made for him to wear to signify their relationship with her barrette but is unable to gain the confidence that she needed to confess her feelings. Mostly because he’s around with Zeke from them having a little roughhousing to throwing chicken nuggets at each other...yeah, I don’t blame her. You could say that she’s probably shy and had trouble trying to get the confidence that she needed and that’s pretty much normal for anyone who has a hots for someone. It’s normal. Though then again, this is the same person who helped Darryl to be a better boyfriend to land Rosa, telling Henry that he’ll find someone else after breaking up following the debate competition, and giving Susmita advice to gather the confidence to confess her feelings to Henry while waiting for contact from aliens. Yeah, you might as well call her a hypocrite in her side story of the movie. Because for someone who is pretty much an expert in romance and fell in love with more boys than oil companies looking for countries to invade to take their oil, I don’t blame her for fearing rejection from someone that you look up to, but it almost feels hypocritical.
Much like with Gene, that side story gets sidetracked and you kinda wish that they could’ve done a little more. I mean yeah, we dwell into Tina’s erotic friend fiction once again with this time being her and Jimmy Jr riding on horseback on the beach with Jimmy Jr, knowing that it is Tina’s story, the pants had got to go. And the idea of Fantasy Jimmy Jr pressuring Tina to make a move was something. And it was to the point where she feels like she just gives up and throws the item away into the ocean before going fuck all with everything that is about to take place. But at least Tina got her conclusion though two out of three might be the benefit of the doubt for her once we get to the final few minutes of the film. One is Jimmy Jr finding the necklace that she made that was washed up. And the other being the big screen kiss between the two. And yeah, this was expected that they’re not going to officially become a couple because knowing the show, once we get to Season 13, it’s back to the same ol’ shtick of “will they/won’t they”. But at least Tina got two out of three things that she got from her list. That and also the post-credit scene where she, Jimmy Jr, and a pair of zombie boys riding on Jericho. Those poor people who had to walk out during the credits who didn’t even notice that there was a post-credit scene. Just be lucky that someone on YouTube decided to upload it.
Other things to pinpoint from the movie before closing things out with this review. The car chase scene was excellent. The visuals along with the tense moments as the Belchers are being chased by Grover were top-notch. It was an excellent moment from the moment and I did share a laugh once the two parties crash their way to the sand from the pier and turned the high-speed chase into a low-speed one. I thought that was great. The songs did not disappoint even though a few made it into the film. Again, hoping for an extended version of the film where the deleted scenes fit into the movie and make it a full-length feature. “Sunny Side Up” was a nice song to get a groove on. “Lucky Ducks” is another one that can top off the list. The song in the final minutes of the film once Gene and his band performed was something. At least they released the full soundtrack, which includes some songs that didn’t make it into the film, is out now. So check that out over on Spotify or YouTube or iTunes. Anywhere really.
So final thoughts, this was really good movie. Though if I were to pick the cons of the film during it’s 102 minute runtime, other than some stuff not being able to be answered and getting the short end of the stick, as well as some characters not getting their time in the spotlight enough, it has to be the pacing because it just went by that fast. Especially into the climax of the film and the final few minutes leading up to the restaurant opening up for the fourth time. So there’s an issue on that but other than labeling the issues that I have with it, it was a very good film and whether if you’re a longtime fan of the show or just some random newbie, trust me, you will not disappoint. You want proof of me saying that? I filmed my reaction over on TikTok goddamn it. That being said, despite the issue with the pacing and some stuff not being answered, this was a pretty good ass movie. So I’ll give The Bob’s Burgers Movie...
A 9 out of 10. But that’s my opinion and now I wanna hear yours in the comments below. Tell me what you think about The Bob’s Burgers Movie. Do you like it? Do you hate it? Do you think the movie should’ve done a little more? What’s under Louise’s ears? Do you think that the characters who didn’t get their shot in the limelight get their due? Let’s discuss. All that and your mini-review in the comment second below.
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Donate over at PayPal, Patreon, and Ko-fi pages in helping your boy out in both improving the page and help paying the bills. Thank y’all so much for reading and to the cast and crew of the show who worked hard on the film that took five years and four Covid waves, I’m not the one who is usually sentimental but uh...from the bottom of my heart, thank y’all. Thank y’all so much for creating what is pretty much a masterpiece and uh...I’ve been doing this shit since 2014. Went through a burnout in 2017 going into early 2018 that stopped me from talking about the show but uh...here we are. Loved this show to death. Loren, the cast, and crew of the show worked their hardest to make this possible and again, I’m not the sentimental type but once again, thank y’all so much for creating this wonderful show and movie. And until the next time, which would be Season 13 but there’s a short that I’m gonna work on by the time I’m posting this review, so until then, wash your hands, wear a mask, get vaccinated and boosted, and also a reminder that you are loved, you are beautiful, ignore the haters, and I’ll see y’all later.
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