The Bob’s Burgers Movie: If You Like The Show, You’ll Like The Movie

I love Bob’s Burgers. I may not have started watching it until after it aired a while, but I’m glad I started it. It’s so wholesome, and the Belcher family unit is so secure it can make you envious. It’s rare to find a functional family on TV where the father isn’t an oafish brute or the mother is meanspirited for no reason (looking at you, Family Guy). It’s refreshing, probably why this show is still ongoing with a movie.
Overall, I liked it and will probably watch it again but maybe not right now. The movie’s main plot stressed me out with how realistic it was; Bob and Linda are trying to come up with a way to make money to pay their business loan. While I’ve never been in a situation to be paying off a business loan, it reminded me a lot of when I was in college when I often struggled to find ways to pay my monthly bills. It was stressful and not a position I wanted to find myself in again. While unpleasant and realistic, I found my heart going out to these fictional characters and wanting to help them.
Leaning into that, though, this move did a great job humanizing the Belcher family even more. They already felt natural with the slice-of-life premise. Still, in this movie, I felt the struggles of each Belcher member, with Bob being worried about the money and Linda trying to remain optimistic and seek new opportunities. Even with the Belcher children, I felt their struggles as Tina tried and failed to ask Jimmy Jr. out, Gene struggled to find the “perfect sound” to make his instrument complete, and Louise dealt with being called a baby. It was truly impressive to see various stages of my life on screen. Granted, I am not musically inclined like Gene, but I can relate to wanting to find perfection for your craft.
But those were just the side plots. Let’s talk about the main story of the movie. It’s a murder mystery which I want to say was an odd choice for the show, but it wasn’t? It doesn’t fit with Bob’s Burger’s usual brand of slice-of-life – it’s slightly unrealistic but still something that could happen, though perhaps with not as many fun hijinks sprinkled in the mix. The plot mainly reminded me of the very first episode of the show, where Louise tells everyone in school that Bob sells human meat in his burgers. I am not entirely sure which element of the movie reminds me of that in the film, but it gave me the same vibes and made me wonder if that was purposeful or coincidental. I don’t want to speak on it any further to avoid spoilers but what I will say is watching those teeth fall into Louise’s mouth made me physically gag.
It wouldn’t be a proper Bob’s Burger review without discussing the songs. In true Bob’s Burger fashion, lots of fun songs but not as memorable as on the main show. While I found them catchy at the moment, I can’t remember any of them now. It almost felt like they were either running out of ideas for songs or adding them out of obligation.
The last thing I want to touch on is the animation. It was unsettling. It has a budget, but it doesn’t seem to fit the style the show has already established. It feels like The Amazing World of Gumball gone wrong. Some of the backgrounds seem too realistic at moments, and the characters still feel two-dimensional but with added dimension. It didn’t blend well, and it took a while for me to stop noticing that and watch the movie. It was too fluid, I guess, but maybe I am being picky. It’s three-dimensional but weird. I don’t know much about animation, so that’s all I will say.
Like I said before, I’d watch the movie again but not right now, mainly because I want to see if my opinions change again in the distant future rather than in the near.