Film Review: THE BOB’S BURGERS MOVIE (2022): Animated Film is Humorous but Feels a Bit Lacking in Terms of Plot

The Bob’s Burgers Movie Review

The Bob’s Burgers Movie (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Loren Bouchard and Bernard Derriman, written by Loren Bouchard, Nora Smith and Jim Dauterive and starring H. Jon Benjamin, Kristen Schaal, Dan Mintz, John Roberts, Eugene Mirman, David Wain, Kevin Kline, Zach Galifianakis, Larry Murphy, Gary Cole, Paul F. Tompkins, Nick Kroll, Craig Anton, David Herman, Jaime Moyer, Brian Huskey and Bobby Tisdale.

Directed by Loren Bouchard and Bernard Derriman, The Bob’s Burgers Movie brings its characters to the cinematic world and does a nice job introducing audiences to the family which is featured in the T.V. show. However, after a clever first half hour or so, the movie gets bogged down in a suspense plot straight out of an overblown episode of “Scooby-Doo.” That’s not to say there isn’t much to be admired about Bouchard and Derriman’s film, it’s just that the movie could have had a more meaningful plot to make it more big-screen worthy. However, the movie redeems itself with some suspense towards the end that makes it more tolerable than it could have been.

As the new film opens, we meet Bob Belcher, the “Bob” of the movie’s title and his family. Bob, who is running a burger joint, is voiced by H. Jon Benjamin while his wife, Linda, is voiced by John Roberts. To use Roberts’s voice as Linda’s is an interesting choice that I’m sure has worked wonders on the show on which this film is based. However, it felt a bit odd hearing Roberts (as Linda) speak in the initial stages of the movie. It seemed the voice didn’t match the character but that’s probably something humorous about the picture which I just didn’t “get.” Anyway, moving on, Bob and Linda have three children: a daughter with glasses named Tina (also voiced by an odd choice, Dan Mintz) who looks like a young Woody Allen, band leader Gene (voice of Eugene Mirman) and Louise (Kristen Schaal’s voice) who wears a pink bunny ears hat.

This animated picture reveals that Bob is making a burger early one morning to take with him to the bank to try to butter up a loan clerk there who could give them the necessary money to help the burger establishment that Bob runs stay afloat. Pretty soon, he is denied the loan and to make matters worse, there is a big hole that appears in front of his restaurant which prevents customers from coming in thus making it nearly impossible to obtain the money that is needed for the place to stay open.

There is a local carnival called Wonder Wharf which is where most of the action in The Bob’s Burgers Movie takes place. Since a guy from Wonder Wharf named Cotton Candy Dan has been killed, the remainder of the film’s plot is set into motion as the kids get immersed in the mystery surrounding Dan’s death. Serving as the voice of Bob’s unsympathetic landlord, Calvin Fischoeder is Kevin Kline who does nice, distinct voice-over work here to be certain. Calvin initially gives the family hope that he may be able to wave a month’s rent but that may just be wishful thinking. Felix (voice of Zach Galifianakis) is Calvin’s unlikable brother and Grover (David Wain’s voice) is the third wheel in the Fischoeder group who is involved in a plot to flee the country that the kids soon become aware of.

There are a number of scenes where our kids become dangerously involved in the situation the shady Fischoeders are planning. While these sequences feature entertaining daring escapes, they mostly go on too long. This film is about 15 minutes too long to be certain. Some of these moments in the film’s midsection wear out their welcome and feel like they could have been trimmed a bit. When the whole family finds themselves without their cell phones being held against their will by the baddies of the movie’s plot, however, the movie picks up steam as the heroes take a carnival car and drive it away making a quick escape before they end up being buried in the hole in front of their restaurant while in the car by the film’s antagonist.

A hugely entertaining earlier portion of the movie comes when Bob and his wife Linda take a cart out to sell burgers at the carnival. It makes for some interesting scenarios that are mostly enjoyable to watch while the kids are busy getting themselves into mischief.

The three kids are well-conceived once you get used to them and their character traits. Tina is the most memorable of the children as she has an obsession with a young boy who she sees in her dreams riding beside her on a horse in a hilarious scene. While the other two kids feel a little less developed, they are still cute and their curiosity gets them into more trouble than they bargained for as the plot develops.

While The Bob’s Burgers Movie could have used at least a couple of doses of plot points to further develop the story line, it is eventually fun enough to watch despite its flaws. I’d be curious to see a sequel now that I have been introduced to these characters and I’d like to see if I can find more to admire about them than I did in this initial film. It’s clear the show this movie is based on has a huge following so I’m definitely anxious to see more big screen stories with these characters at the helm.

Rating: 6/10

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