The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie is still looked at fondly by audiences, but it has one big issue: it wasted Squidward's potential to have his own character journey. The first movie, which was first released in 2004, was the result of the growing popularity of SpongeBob SquarePants since it debuted on Nickelodeon in 1999. The movie tried to include as many characters as possible, though not all of them get an adequate amount of screen time, including Squidward Tentacles, who is considered to be a major character.
The plot of the first SpongeBob movie, which was originally planned to be SpongeBob's finale, largely focuses on SpongeBob and Patrick's journey to Shell City to retrieve King Neptune's crown, which Mr. Krabs has been accused of stealing. SpongeBob and Patrick have six days to find and return the crown, or else Mr. Krabs's life will be at stake. The duo is joined by Mindy, Neptune's daughter. When Squidward learns that Mr. Krabs was framed and Plankton has stolen the crown, he confronts the villain at the Chum Bucket and plans to alert Neptune about this plot. However, before Squidward can do this, Plankton activates a series of mind-controlling bucket helmets to brainwash the residents of Bikini Bottom into capturing Squidward. After this, Squidward is sidelined until the end of the movie.
In the first SpongeBob movie, SpongeBob's character develops and matures after going on the epic journey to find Neptune's crown. In contrast, Squidward doesn't receive this type of development in the film and is mainly used for two things: first, for jokes, and secondly, to show off another facet of Plankton's evil plans with the mind-control Chum Bucket hats. Squidward deserved to have his character have a proper arc, especially since this film was supposed to end the series originally. The movie had a great opportunity to have Squidward tag along on the journey and learn how to appreciate SpongeBob and Patrick more instead of constantly being exasperated by them. The rare moments when Squidward actually joins in on SpongeBob and Patrick's antics are some of the best parts of the show, and it's a pity that the first SpongeBob movie doesn't give the audience these scenes.
The movie also missed out on the opportunity to have Squidward interact with the character of Mindy. Mindy is a great foil to SpongeBob and Patrick because she's a very rational character who can keep her cool. Mindy's compassionate, positive nature would be a fun contrast with Squidward's sarcasm and grumpy demeanor. There is potential for conflict because the two characters might disagree with how to deal with situations or even how to handle SpongeBob and Patrick. It would've been fun to see how Mindy and Squidward would've interacted with each other, especially in contrast to how Patrick and SpongeBob do. The first SpongeBob movie wasted a chance to explore another character dynamic that could've been interesting.
Though there are still plenty of enjoyable aspects of the first SpongeBob movie, one thing it could have done better is utilize the character of Squidward more. Squidward's character deserved the chance to go on a journey and develop throughout the film. The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie also could've used Squidward more to deepen existing character dynamics and create new ones with new characters. It can be argued that there wasn't room for Squidward in the road trip plot, or that there needed to be a catalyst for Plankton to start his mind control. Still, there was potential for the first SpongeBob movie to be even better by letting Squidward go on a character journey and become a bigger part of the plot. Even though the sequels in the SpongeBob film franchise aren't as beloved as the first movie, they have taken notes and used Squidward more in the plot.