'SpongeBob SquarePants Rehydrated' Tribute Film Pulled After Copyright Spat, Prompting Memes And Backlash Against Paramount

A fan-made recreation of 2004's The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie was posted and then swiftly taken down from YouTube over the weekend, following a copyright complaint. The production, dubbed The Spongebob Squarepants Movie Rehydrated, was a non-profit project done in tribute to late SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg. The rehydrated version of the film did not use the original's animation or sound design but was instead made by fans and volunteers. It reportedly took two years to make the movie.

#justiceforspongebob We all worked on this project for 2 years and poured in original animation, art, voice acting, music, and everything.
We volunteered for this project and made ZERO money off of it.
We did it all to dedicate this to Stephen Hillenburg and the show he made. pic.twitter.com/TemTGonMJx

— Penciltip Workshop (TOH/Amphibia Spoilers) (@PencilWorkshop) May 2, 2022

#justiceforspongebob
This movie took 2+ years to make and was taken down for bullshit reasons pic.twitter.com/RCQytNV8Sd

— Hotdog Flavored Water | Gorilla Drip Man (@Hotdog____Water) May 1, 2022

The response across social media networks like Twitter was strongly critical of Paramount Pictures, the studio that owns the rights to SpongeBob. Many memed about what they saw as the media conglomerate's greed and hostility.

#JusticeForSpongeBob pic.twitter.com/mk7WajQW37

— 2.e.u (@conta_eu2) May 2, 2022

Thanks again for the copyright rules, Disney! (Or whoever decreed that reanimated collabs count as infringement idk, I just know it's Disney's fault somehow)#JusticeForSpongebob pic.twitter.com/MxVCOJKg5o

— Punkypine (@Punkypine) May 2, 2022

Many were appalled that the film was taken down despite a disclaimer that ran at the beginning, attempting to make it clear the film was not stealing anything from Paramount.

oh, so Viacom can’t read? #JusticeforSpongebob pic.twitter.com/8mrBJHZP0O

— Blood Hacker (@knee_ahhh) May 2, 2022

Pretty much. #justiceforspongebob pic.twitter.com/1q3tG1OHMh

— TRAFON (@RiseFallNickBck) May 2, 2022

Others pointed out what they saw as inefficiency and hypocrisy in Paramount's approach to supposedly proprietary content on YouTube, or criticized the platform itself.

pic.twitter.com/xKumSugmnu

— Again, and A-gengar (@Chaistrum1) May 2, 2022

One more meme for the good guys#justiceforspongebob pic.twitter.com/WXFmn74W8T

— TRAFON (@RiseFallNickBck) May 2, 2022

Several animators who worked on the project also shared their contributions online after the takedown.

since this is gaining traction, heres my scene from the @SBRehydrated collab, which, as everyone knows, was blocked by paramount pictures, the most beloved multi-million dollar company, despite being protected by fair use, might I add. #JusticeforSpongebob pic.twitter.com/nwfHgwe8NE

— ThatGuyNamedJoe (@ThatGuyNamedJ0e) May 2, 2022

The organizers of the SpongeBob tribute are trying to get it back up on YouTube. As it stands, the film is at least available on Newgrounds. As the struggle between SpongeBob fans and Paramount continues, this may not be the last of the memes we'll see.

Going to sleep now, but just want to emphasize again how thankful we are for all the support we've gotten! We've filed a dispute against the claim, so we'll see where that takes us. For now, please enjoy the film on Newgrounds!https://t.co/59Du8XCsap

— OUT NOW – SpongeBob Movie Rehydrated (@SBRehydrated) May 2, 2022