WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, which premieres on Paramount+ and VOD on March 4.
SpongeBob SquarePants has never had a strict timeline, with the continuity often being tweaked to adjust for whatever joke is being told, but it's still notable that the two relationships featured in the franchises' earliest episodes just got a serious change courtesy of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run.
After being captured by Poseidon and placed on trial for his perceived crimes against the oceanic monarch, SpongeBob initially appears to be doomed. However, things change when some of SpongeBob's best friends arrive on the scene.
Patrick, Sandy, Squidward and Mr. Krabs reveal that they met SpongeBob during their time at Camp Koral when most of them were children, and they argue he's been nothing but a supportive and good friend his entire life. Squidward kept playing the clarinet because of him, Sandy was inspired by SpongeBob to become a scientist, Patrick was pleased to have a best friend, and Mr. Krabs was convinced to open a restaurant because of him.
While it's a sweet moment for the group of friends, it's a quiet retcon of how SpongeBob met some of his closest friends. Two of the earliest episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants introduced SpongeBob to both Mr. Krabs and Sandy. Although Squidward is introduced in the show as being SpongeBob's neighbor, "Help Wanted" features Squidward trying to convince Mr. Krabs not to hire SpongeBob, only for the young fry cook to prove himself during a customer rush. Meanwhile, Sandy is introduced as a new citizen to the ocean-floor in "Tea in the Tree-Dome," meeting Spongebob and introducing him to the concept of oxygen when they're adults.
While this is a minor tweak in the overall structure of the SpongeBob SquarePants universe, it is an important one. It cements Sandy as a chief member of SpongeBob's life, instead of introducing her as a new visitor and friend that SpongeBob becomes closer with over the course of the series.
It also makes the relationship with SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs all the more important to the history of the Krusty Krab. As Sponge on the Run reveals, there might not have been a Krusty Krab for SpongeBob to work at if he hadn't been able to convince Mr. Krabs that the Krabby Patty was worth selling in Bikini Bottom. Considering how important the restaurant became to SpongeBob later in life, it's a vital change that ties him closer to the history of the establishment.
Still, it's a major tweak to two of the core relationships within SpongeBob SquarePants. While it's a sweet moment that confirms how important friendship is to the heart of SpongeBob's entire life, it does mean that SpongeBob is becoming more willing to make alterations to the history of the largely canon-free series.
Directed and written by Tim Hill from a story by Tim Hill, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run features the voice talent of Tom Kenny, Awkwafina, Matt Berry, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass, Bill Fagerbakke, Carolyn Lawrence, Mr. Lawrence and Reggie Watts. The film arrives Thursday, March 4 on Paramount+.