#JusticeForSpongebob has recently been all over Twitter, a trend that is related to the Spongebob Squarepants series and the newly-released Spongebob Squarepants Movie Rehydrated. This collaborative project brought together many of YouTube's biggest animators in order to create a love letter to the first Spongebob movie. However, unforeseen circumstances came about right as the project was uploaded to YouTube, leading to the Spongebob Squarepants community starting the #JusticeForSpongebob movement.
The YouTube animation-sphere has started a trend of reanimating beloved works, with projects like Shrek Retold, The Dover Boys ReAnimated, the Kirby Reanimated Collab, and more all being released within the past few years. The Spongebob Squarepants Movie Rehydrated was one of the most anticipated of these projects, though, with it being in development for over two years. Due to the fanbase and status of Spongebob Squarepants, many eyes were on the project's premiere when Viacom suddenly took action.
According to the project's official Twitter, Rehydrated was taken down by Viacom less than an hour after the project premiered. Since Viacom owns Spongebob, the status of the film was uncertain, leading the community to quickly organize and post thousands of tweets demanding #JusticeForSpongebob. After nearly 24 hours and thousands of tweets begging Viacom to drop the strike, The Spongebob Squarepants Movie Rehydrated was finally reuploaded to YouTube.
What Spongebob Movie Rehydrated Changes About The Movie
With the exception of one frame, the Spongebob Movie Rehydrated contains entirely original animation. The project is a collaboration that involves over 300 animators and features a variety of different art styles, mediums, and character designs. The animation isn't the only original part, though. Rehydrated doesn't use any of the original film's audio, and instead uses newly recorded voice acting, music, and more. Rehydrated was created as a tribute to Spongebob Squarepants' creator Stephen Hillenburg, who unfortunately passed away in 2018, not long before the project entered production. Being recreated from the ground up by talented animators and voice actors, The Spongebob Squarepants Movie Rehydrated is a passionate love letter to the fans.
Due to the project consisting of almost entirely original content, many believed that Viacom falsely took Rehydrated down. Members of the community made their dismay clear, as #JusticeForSpongebob quickly shot to the top of Twitter's trending page. The outcry spread through the platform like wildfire, making those who hadn't even heard of Rehydrated fight for the release of the project's strike. Luckily, due to the community rounding up and pushing #JusticeForSpongebob, Rehydrated is now once again available to view on YouTube and Newgrounds, to the rejoice of many Spongebob Squarepants fans.
The Spongebob Squarepants Movie Rehydrated can be watched on Youtube here.