Are ya ready, kids? Nickelodeon is gearing up for a big summer in theaters with the return of the Smurfs with a starry new musical animated feature headlined by Rihanna in July. In front of the film, however, will be a little surprise for SpongeBob SquarePants fans. Ahead of the animation giant’s annual Annecy International Animation Film Festival panel on Tuesday, Collider can exclusively announce that the never-before-seen short, “SpongeBob: Order Up,” will finally hit the big screen starting July 18 alongside Smurfette’s big adventure. The news comes ahead of the SpongeBob and Squidward-centric short’s global premiere at Annecy on the heels of the long-running kids’ show’s 25th anniversary last year.
“Order Up” was produced by Nickelodeon Animation in 2011-2012, yet, for one reason or another, has remained locked within the company’s archives. Created with the classic SpongeBob aesthetic and animation, it centers on the odd-couple dynamic between the always optimistic SpongeBob and his perpetually grumpy neighbor, Squidward, during one of their typical shifts at the Krusty Krab. SpongeBob annoying his pal is so routine that he literally has it penciled into his calendar, yet, in the short, he’s at his most abrasive, overusing the “order up” bell to the point that it drives the squid mad. It’s classic SpongeBob material, highlighting an aspect of the series that’s been present since Stephen Hillenburg conceived Bikini Bottom in 1999 and featuring the iconic voices of Tom Kenny and Roger Bumpass as SpongeBob and Squidward.
Sean Charmatz and Paul Tibbitt co-wrote the short, and both have quite the resumes, both within and beyond the confines of the long-running Nickelodeon series. Charmatz has an extensive background in animation and penned several episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants from Seasons 6 through 8, though he most recently got his big directorial break as the helmer of DreamWorks’ Orion and the Dark on Netflix in 2024. Tibbitt, meanwhile, has writing credits on 115 SpongeBob episodes and previously co-directed and helped pen the story of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water in 2015. On “Order Up,” Tibbitt also executive-produced alongside Hillenberg, with a team that featured creative director Vincent Waller, animation and supervising director Alan Smart, art director Peter Bennett, producer Jennie Monica Hammond, and production manager Alvaro Zalaya, among others.
What Is ‘Smurfs’ About?
This little piece of SpongeBob history will be the perfect lead-in for Smurfs, which brings the little blue creatures created by Belgian artist Peyo back to the big screen for the first time in eight years. Helmed by Puss in Boots director Chris Miller and written by South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut scribe Pam Brady, the film centers on Smurfette as she leads the inhabitants of Smurf Village on a mission to stop the evil wizards Gargamel (JP Karliak) and Razamel (also Karliak) after they kidnap Papa Smurf (John Goodman) for their latest nefarious scheme. Their adventure takes the Smurfs into the human world, encountering other Smurfs, like Papa’s brother (Nick Offerman), who have learned to live beyond the village and provide more insight into exactly what a Smurf is. Smurfs will also be featured in Nickelodeon’s Annecy panel, alongside the yellow sea sponge’s next feature-length adventure, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, featuring Mark Hamill as The Flying Dutchman.
“SpongeBob: Order Up” will finally see the light of day at Annecy tomorrow, June 10, before heading to theaters in front of Smurfs on July 18. Stay tuned here at Collider for more
- Release Date
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May 1, 1999
- Network
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Nickelodeon
- Showrunner
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Vincent Waller, Marc Ceccarelli
- Directors
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Vincent Waller, Dave Cunningham, Stephen Hillenburg, Paul Tibbitt
- Writers
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Tim Hill, Stephen Hillenburg, Derek Drymon, Nick Jennings
