Boy, I just love H. Jon Benjamin. The first time I heard him was in an episode of Home Movies on Adult Swim back in the early 2000s. I loved the show in general, but Benjamin’s Coach McGuirk made me laugh whenever he was on screen. Benjamin also voiced characters on episodes of another of my favorite shows, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, as well as dozens of other shows including Archer, Assy McGee, and WordGirl, and even when he’s on camera in shows like Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp and Parks and Recreation, it’s his voice that is so distinctive; that low monotone, so he perpetually sounds bored, sleepy, and high. I can’t imagine anyone else voicing Bob Belcher in Bob’s Burgers. He is Bob.
The Bob’s Burgers Movie is basically a very special episode of Bob’s Burgers, an extended episode of the show. That’s not a bad thing, folks. Bob (Benjamin) and Linda (Roberts) have an impending payment due on their loan, and not paying it means losing the business. They have one week to come up with the money OR ELSE. Naturally, a giant sinkhole opens up right in front of the restaurant, blocking the entrance and stopping anyone from coming in, just as business should be booming because of the Octo-Wharfiversary (the 80th anniversary of the nearby Wonder Wharf). Meanwhile, Louise (Schaal) gets teased at school and she’s out to prove something to herself that sets her and her siblings, Tina (Mintz) and Gene (Mirman), up to solve a mystery. The Belchers are in for the week of their lives.
Directed by series creator and Home Movies co-creator Loren Bouchard, The Bob’s Burgers Movie is a goddamn delight, very funny, and so sweet and charming. You know this weird, quirky family really loves each other. Many of the nonfamily regulars are in this, too, with the far-from-loving millionaire Fischoeders (Galifianakis, Kline, and Wain), and Bob’s Burgers regular Teddy (Murphy). In keeping with the small-screen-to-big-screen jump, the movie even has musical numbers (yes, numbers with an S!) and the animation looks great, slick and crisp. It’s beautiful, really. Sure, the mystery isn’t really that much of a mystery, but who cares, it’s fun to watch the kids try to figure it out. It doesn’t matter if you’ve seen every episode of all 12 seasons of the show or if you’ve never watched the Animation Domination mainstay on Fox in your life. The Bob’s Burgers Movie is a summer fun carnival ride through the Belcher universe.
This article appears in May 27 • 2022.