By Kenneth Fox
The first-ever Irish language movie is coming to Netflix with The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on The Run or ‘Spongebob an Scannán: Rith, Spúinse, Rith’ as Gaeilge.
SpongeBob SquarePants, his best friend Patrick Star and the rest of the gang from Bikini Bottom star in the first-ever all CGI SpongeBob motion picture event.
After SpongeBob's beloved pet snail Gary is snail-napped, he and Patrick embark on an epic adventure to The Lost City of Atlantic City to bring Gary home. As they navigate the delights and dangers on this perilous and hilarious rescue mission, SpongeBob and his pals prove there’s nothing stronger than the power of friendship.
While the film is voiced in English by Tom Kenny (SpongeBob), Keanu Reeves (Sage) and Matt Berry (Poseidon), well-known Irish actors Marcus Lamb, Lochlainn O’Mearáin, Brian Thunder, Carmel Stephens and TV presenter Daithí Ó Sé have taken on the roles in the Irish language version of the film.
Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Movies partnered with TG4 and Macalla to create the Irish language version of the recently released film.
Cúpla focal
Cúán Mac Conghail, executive producer from Macalla said: “It’s a pleasure for Macalla to work on SpongeBob, a character we have been re-voicing for TG4 since 2006.
"We were excited to work with TG4 and Paramount Pictures to create the Irish language version for the movie, ‘Spongebob an Scannán: Rith, Spúinse, Rith. It’s fantastic that the Irish language version of the movie is now available on Netflix and accessible as Gaeilge to young and old."
TV Presenter Daithí Ó Sé who voices King Poseidon in Irish said: “King Poseidon is an exuberant character who is somewhat full of himself. Thankfully, not like me at all, so I had to dig deep to act the part!
"He was a fun character to play. Because of Covid 19 restrictions, we recorded the character voice from home, and my young son was eavesdropping for some of the recording. He is delighted his Dad has a starring role in the movie!”
For parents who may only have a 'cúpla focal’ and need a refresher, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on The Run can be watched as Gaeilge with Irish voices and English subtitles to help
