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The magical touch occurs right there when that certain guy you like actually calls your name. Paramount Pictures reminded everyone of the heart-rending voice work performed by Scarlett Johansson as Princess Mindy in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie nearly two decades ago. The studio released the clip of Mindy’s first meeting with Patrick Star, combined with that “I-am-gonna-be-queen-of-the-sea-one-day” certainty that rendered this character memorable right from the outset.
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The 2004 feature-length animated film cast Johansson as the smooth-talking royal Lady, who helped SpongeBob and Patrick with their journey to Shell City. The aura still exists in the scene of her endowing them with that magical bag of winds. So many reactions elicited from all the movie-goers now grown up: childhood favorites never really fade.
One guest claimed plainly, “Scarlett Johansson’s voice is freaking amazing; her voice, omg.” You can’t argue with that. This unexpected performance rendered by the Black Widow star as an animated mermaid princess gave Mindy the rare honor of being amongst those few side characters who simply steal every scene they appear in. Another commenter said how funny it was that Mindy’s setting-up-of-a-quest was so close to something from Phineas and Ferb—that-coloring marks those tropes as having entered the very core of pop-cultural DNA.
Then there was the shipping. Oh, the shipping. “Patrick Star X Princess Mindy: I thought it was cute at first. And now, I think they should be together,” said another starry-eyed lover, committing some into wagering on that interspecies royal-type romance. Then again, others just appreciated that this film stands tall against 2004’s other classics like Shark Tale and The Polar Express.
The post spurred hilarious callbacks to Patrick’s accidental underwear reveal (“Did you see my underwear?” “No Patrick.”) and wild debates on whether this is Johansson’s “most superior film yet” (bold statement, but a respectful one).
And then, most wild and crazy, was the admission from quite a bunch that they never knew Mindy eventually appeared on TV with years in between in the SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout. “I’ve always wanted her to come back to the TV show after I watched the movie,” a viewer said, bubbling with joy that the wait had finally ended.
Soon after, comments degenerated into pure nostalgia, with people quoting lines word-for-word (“Patrick? Let’s go get that crown.”) and reminiscing about first watches back in 2004, and even fantasizing about an actual SpongeBob Movie-themed Universal Studios ride (someone needs to call the guys at the theme park real fast).
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While the movie has been on digital for some time, the post really resonated with the collective childhood temperament. Whether Johansson’s do-it-by-chance glamour casting, Patrick’s often-clueless charm, or just the general nonsense of an animated cyclops-guarded Shell City are many stronger currents that this scene gets etched in animations that just never grow old. SpongeBob and Patrick’s massive undertaking still resides in the hearts of the people even after two decades. And apparently, certain romantic shenanigans of Patrick with a mermaid princess are big as well. Some childhood crushes never go away.