While “Bob’s Burgers’ has been an animated series since 2011, I haven’t made time to watch a single episode.
I mean, it’s on my streaming list to get to at some point, but it wasn’t ever a high priority.
That being said, there’s been plenty of pop culture references in the past decade that made me feel like I could see the film and muddle my way through it with a few laughs.
Sadly, that couldn’t be further from the truth!
I went into the movie without any really solid expectations and wasn’t disappointed.
Though now it has made me curious about the actual series and might have kicked it further up the watch list.
Still, there isn’t anything overly hilarious or gripping in the film for me.
So, I guess it only works well if you’re a fan of the show.
“The Bob’s Burgers Movie” is an animated musical comedy film based on the animated television series Bob’s Burgers.
It is directed by the series creator Loren Bouchard and Bernard Derriman (in their feature directorial debuts), written by Bouchard and Nora Smith, and produced by Janelle Momary-Neely, Bouchard, and Smith.
The original voice cast from the series reprises their roles including H. Jon Benjamin, Dan Mintz, Eugene Mirman, Larry Murphy, John Roberts, Kristen Schaal, David Wain, Zach Galifianakis, and Kevin Kline.
The film clocks in at 102 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for rude/suggestive material and language.
One week before summer vacation, the Belcher family is all preparing for things to change.
Parents Bob (Benjamin) and Linda (Roberts) ask their bank for an extension on their business loan, only to be turned down by the manager and given a week to make the month’s payment or face repossession of their restaurant equipment.
Eldest daughter Tina (Mintz) is nervous about asking Jimmy Jr. to be her summertime boyfriend, while middle child Gene (Mirman) is interested in reforming the Itty Bitty Ditty Committee band.
And their youngest daughter Louise (Schaal) is ridiculed for refusing to perform a stunt on the school playground, afraid of losing her hat that she believes is the source of her bravery.
An underground water main breaks, creating a giant sinkhole directly in front of the entrance to Bob’s Burgers.
The family’s landlord Calvin Fischoeder (Kline) denies that the rupture was due to his negligence, then suggests that he may allow them to delay the month’s rent so they can make the loan payment.
Louise has Tina and Gene film her climbing into the sinkhole that night to prove her bravery, only to fall to the bottom and discover a skeleton.
The police establish the remains as those of Cotton Candy Dan, a carny at Wonder Wharf who disappeared six years earlier, and determine that he was killed by a gunshot to the chest.
Calvin is arrested for murder after the weapon is found in his possession, but Louise is convinced of his innocence and enlists Tina and Gene to help her find the killer after having taken one of Dan’s teeth for evidence.
The children skip school to locate their friend and former criminal Mickey, another carny, at a trailer town filled with carnies who think Calvin is guilty.
The children leave and are approached by a carny who reluctantly reveals that Dan had met with Calvin and his brother Felix (Galifianakis) on the night of the disappearance.
They reason that Felix framed Calvin and learned from Sgt. Bosco (Cole) that a novelty cufflink was found with Dan’s remains.
The Belcher kids pursue Felix as their next person of interest and their parents have several obstacles still in their way to save the restaurant.
Overall, it has a few funny moments, but if you aren’t a fan of the series, you won’t miss much if you forgo this flick.
