Right now, I have this to say: Spongebob Squarepants the movie was far more entertaining and engaging than The Incredibles. And I say this because, you, reader, may be faced with the hard decision to choose which of these recent animated movie releases you will pony up your hard-earned money for. The answer is this: go for the yellow Scotch Brite pad (with the squarepants).

The Incredibles, though promising, was uneven at times, and took a helluva long time to become interesting. The weakest of all Pixar releases, The Incredibles is weighed down by long character setups (yeah, yeah, yeah we get it, he's *incredible*) and the writer's onus of making superhuman characters interesting in an animated universe so used to, well, animated superhuman characters: the best of Pixar had to do with toys, ants, fish and more toys. Monsters, Inc., I believe was second weakest.

The one saving grace was Edna, and she had the fewest lines -- heck, it took nearly half the movie to introduce the evil villain! And I wasn't crazy about their superpowers either; we've seen them all. No talking fishes here, no toys with identity crises either.

Contrast this to the maniacal buzz of the Ren and Stimpy-esque gem that was Spongebob Squarepants (even the art looked Michael K). Complete with humor only the intellectual snobs can get ("You can't fool me! I listen to public radio!") and unbelievably witty repartee ("I made it to Shell City! I rode the Hasselhoff!") Spongebob kept you laughing with its own witless bizaare brand of humor that was all so tongue in cheek. There's Spongebob, in an ecstatic moment of self-realization, proclaiming that he was just being himself (not a "kid", and not a "man") as he flies magically in the air dressed like Jimi Hendrix and freeing the people of Bikini Bottom from Plankton's mind-control with every riff from his guitar.

I've long forgotten the best parts of The Incredibles, yet the "Goofy Goober" song is earworm. And there's Mindy, Patrick, competitive ice cream eating and a song and dance number you will never forget. Perhaps a little bit of the unexpected (I was dragged in the movie house with three other kids) made this movie even more delightful, and made The Incredibles the more half-witted one.

Leave the Mr. Incredible doll alone, I want a Spongebob tee for Christmas.