The classic underwater animated character SpongeBob SquarePants has come out of the water at last. He's hitting the beach — and he's buff to boot.
In this exclusive first look at the upcoming movie SpongeBob: Sponge Out of Water (due out Feb. 13, 2015) the main cast gets a new "real" look once they leave their animated sea city of Bikini Bottom.
"It's a bold new world where no Sponge has gone before. I'm still getting used to it," says Tom Kenny, who has voiced SpongeBob for 17 years. "You've seen someone in a certain way for so long... It's just really different."
The character's zany personality remains the same in this second movie installment for the long-running Nickelodeon television franchise — Kenny still voices SpongeBob even with his new look which comes late in the movie.
"It's not like SpongeBob has gone through any personality rewiring, there's no reboot. Daniel Craig will not be voicing him," says Kenny. "It's just a very different likeness."
The team even transforms to computer graphic superheroes to fight off a menace endangering beloved Bikini Bottom.
Patrick Star turns into Mr. Superawesomeness, SpongeBob Squarepants becomes The Invincibubble, Squidward Tentacles is Sour Note and Mr. Krabs turns into Sir Pinch-A-Lot.
"It's the big climax of the movie," says director Paul Tibbit. "They all come to shore in our world. And they transform themselves into an Avengers-type team to do battle. Their world is in jeopardy."
Not that they look to be a serious crime fighting team going forward.
"I don't know if these guys could take out Thor and The Hulk, but they might give them a run for their money," says Tibbit.
The team needs to deal with the threat of Antonio Banderas, who plays a villainous pirate in the movie. "He's got a great comedy touch," says Kenny. "And we've seen him in Zorro. He really knows how to swash a buckle. If there were pirates today, he would definitely pass as one."
The Sponge Out of Water crew will be at Comic-Con in San Diego on Thursday to show off the new-look superhero characters and footage from the movie.
Kenny believes fans will be excited, but he's ready for some shocked reactions too.
"There a thin line between a riot and a paroxysm of joy," he says. "Either way, it's Comic-Con and it's always good to have your escape route planned."
