It has been a long time coming for Bob’s Burgers to get its own movie, but this past May it became a reality. While some folks will argue that this film is no more than just a longer episode of the television show, one can also argue that there is enough time for a complete and more concise story to unfold. What came out of the efforts from directors Loren Bouchard and Bernard Derriman was something sincerely fun and whacky in the usual Bob’s Burgers way.
Official Synopsis
The Bob’s Burgers Movie is an animated musical comedy-mystery-adventure based on the long-running, Emmy® award-winning series. After a ruptured water main creates a sinkhole in front of Bob’s Burgers and blocks the entrance, Bob and Linda Belcher struggle to keep the business afloat, and the kids try to solve a mystery that could save the restaurant.
About that story
First and foremost, I didn’t expect there to be musical numbers in the film. It’s not what I would expect from the Bob’s Burgers universe, but the numbers were a delightful addition to the entertainment value of the overall package. They were some great musical numbers that brought just a little bit of hope and joy to the story, while certainly adding more insanity and zaniness to the product.
As for the three-act narrative being told, the crisis was two-fold. First, the Belchers find themselves at the mercy of a bank that will repossess their equipment if they don’t’ make a payment for a loan they took out. Getting x-amount of money by x-amount of time is the underlying groundwork for the story, and honestly, in this timeline of actual life, I’m sure this is a real problem that is relatable to a lot of people. Feeling that pinch and stress to make money, the film does a great job of representing and presenting it. You truly feel for the Belchers and their situation. In a way, and this is always the way with Bob’s Burgers, the family feels real because of their blue-collar problems, even when delivered in a comedic way.
As that realism builds in the film, the story compounds the problem that they need customers by adding a giant sinkhole in front of their store. This piles onto the problem of money making, as no customer can get to the front of the burger joint to help the Belchers meet their bank payment goal and deadline. It’s a two-layer sandwich of trouble with no visible solution.
The story provides a possible solution to the problem with Bob and Linda begging landlord Calvin Fischoeder to skip rent for one month to pay the bank, then they can pay him back over time. Fischoeder promises to think about it after he comes back from a bender with his cousins, Felix and Grover. Betting their hopes on him, another problem arises from the sinkhole which is the discovery of skeletal remains, something the police have to investigate and a problem that adds to the restrictiveness for customers trying to get into the restaurant. Now, if you think that the writers and directors are finished with the obstacles, hold onto your hats. The skeletal remains are of a former carnival acquaintance of Calvin Fischoeder and point directly to him as the prime suspect for murder. And naturally, he is arrested.
To recap what is working against the Belchers in the first act here:
- Bank payment default
- Giant sinkhole
- Skeletal Remains
- The landlord is in trouble with the law
- Customers can’t get into the restaurant
That is quite the setup for the first act and a large, tangled mess that is going to be hard to unravel by the film’s end. To complicate the story even further, there are side issues going on with the kids. Gene wants to use equipment to create a musical band so they can play at the pier’s festival day. Louise must come to terms with kids calling her baby without losing it and figure out how to deal with the fact that she has bunny ears for specific reasons. Tina…well, Tina is Tina. All the above is what needs to be solved by the movie’s end, and you can see why this is more than just another episode of the show, as there are a lot of loose ends to tie up, but also plenty of elbow room to work with to get them solved. And that’s the genius of this movie, it doesn’t waste an ounce of space figuring this out.
The second act has the family splitting up. Linda and Bob must figure out how they’re going to make their payment before the bank comes and repossess everything. Lovable longtime customer and friend of the family, Teddy, drums up a burger cart for the Belchers to use on the pier while their hole issue(s) is solved. They work on that in act two and get close to solutions, but never quite make it over the line.
The kids go a different route, where they go and try to solve who killed the guy in the sinkhole, as they know that their landlord certainly isn’t capable of the crime. By finding the true killer, they get their landlord out of trouble and offer up the best chance for the business to survive (and prove that Louise isn’t a baby). They find themselves with carnival folks, who the dead guy was part of in the past, and the kids find themselves with the police trying to squeak out some information to move their investigation further. Ultimately, they do discover who is behind the whole mess and accidentally get themselves involved with the true perpetrator. Along the way, they continually deal with their side issues in the story, and by the end of act two, they find themselves back with their parents and in a sticky situation with the real murderer.
Act two ups the ante and shows a sliver of light for all the plot points presented in act one. They address each with style and grace, while also bringing a heavy amount of comedy with a sprinkle of good musical numbers to back it all up. While the situations presented feel real and fearful, the writing doesn’t lead the audience to any definitive conclusion that the Belchers have a set of solutions to get them out of their predicament, but it does lead to some great comedy. It’s a well-written second act that simply doesn’t give too much away, even when the murderer is brought to light. There is far more to the story. Again, the only way to stuff this much into a Bob’s Burgers structure is to have more time and, as I stated earlier, there isn’t an ounce of time wasted in this movie format.
When act three begins, the family is back together and is facing a crisis that is bigger than their current problem – they may die together. While the movie unfolds the way you suspect by the end, how it gets to a satisfying conclusion is impressive. There is action, adventure, a fabulous family moment built on sincerity, and a wonderful resolution with a good-hearted ending. The only hiccup in this giddy-up is the way they solve the kids’ problems, especially Louise. Her resolution feels rushed just a tad, but nonetheless gratifying, especially when it’s revealed why she wears the ears. On that note, I’ll stop there because I don’t want to give away the ending and how everything gets resolved.
Overall, The Bob’s Burgers Movie was well worth the wait. The direction of the story was focused, the stakes were high, and the comedy and music just helped glue it all together. Sure, it had some minor issues with side story resolutions, but as fun movies go this one was a treat.
