I have never seen even one episode of the animated TV series Bob’s Burgers before seeing this movie in the theater today so I was not a fan. I had nothing against it either. It was a blank slate. I have a feeling that fans of Bob’s Burgers animated series would love this movie. For me, it was okay at times and dull at others.

According to IMDB: “The story begins when a ruptured water main creates an enormous sinkhole right in front of Bob’s Burgers, blocking the entrance indefinitely and ruining the Belchers’ plans for a successful summer. While Bob and Linda struggle to keep the business afloat, the kids try to solve a mystery that could save their family’s restaurant. As the dangers mount, these underdogs help each other find hope and fight to get back behind the counter, where they belong.“

I admit that I was not expecting this animated film would also have musical components to it, and the first song surprised me. I will say that the songs were pretty decent and catchy.

The movie was fine, but there was little that stood out to me. I can see this as being just a longer version of the TV show.

The original voice cast from the TV show returned for the movie including  H. Jon Benjamin, Dan Mintz, Eugene Mirman, Larry Murphy, John Roberts, Kristen Schaal, David Wain, Zach Galifianakis, and Kevin Kline.

The story of the film was simplistic and typical for a situation comedy show like Bob’s Burgers. Bob’s Burgers restaurant was in trouble with paying bills, Louise is feeling down and unhappy about the fact that she wore a hat with rabbit ears and she had a ton of doubt about her person and Tina wanted to ask Jimmy to be her summertime boyfriend.

There was also a larger piece of the story involving an attempt to replace Wonder Wharf with a mega-park. Who was behind this (including a murder of Cotton Candy Dan, a worker at the Wharf six years ago) was one of the central mysteries of the film. However, it was pretty obvious who was behind the crime because the red herrings were clearly set.

I did not hate this, but I did not find it engaging either. There were some clever use of the language/dialogue and the animation looked much like the typical TV show animation. It was silly but I was bored at times. I am sure that if I had been a fan of Bob’s Burgers this would have hit differently for me.

2.5 stars