Sorry to KPop Demon Hunters and its runaway chances at winning Best Original Song at this year’s Oscars, but there have been only a few times in my life that a group of words so poetic yet so simple have struck me to my core, and none with the swiftness and urgency of the chorus of Ice Spice’s new song, “Big Guy,” from The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants. Did I know this movie existed? No, because I’m an adult. Do I know what “search for SquarePants” is supposed to mean in this context? No, I am behind on the greater SpongeBob Cinematic Universe. I know one thing and one thing alone, and it’s the series of words: “SpongeBob big guy pants okay.” It plays on repeat in my mind. When I close my eyes, I hear it. “SpongeBob big guy pants okay” — it’s a mantra to live by.
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants is out on Christmas Day, but we’re lucky enough to have Ice Spice’s song a month early. Both the film and its accompanying anthem tell the story of SpongeBob’s attempts to be a “big guy”: tall and brave enough to ride a big roller coaster or travel into the deepest part of the ocean. When big-name artists make a song for a kids’ movie, there’s often a lackluster quality to the work. This isn’t their target audience and they’re going through the motions. Ice Spice’s demure (if not fully checked-out) tone only enhances the overall effect of “Big Guy.” She’s not pushing the sentiment nor is she feigning self-importance. The more times she says “SpongeBob big guy pants okay,” the more it’s clear that SpongeBob is a big guy who wears pants, okay?
The song’s verses are full of aquatic puns and references to the greater SpongeBob SquarePants universe. “Ain’t a jellyfish, but I’m a catch,” Ice Spice riffs, later bragging she blows “bubbles so big like Mrs. Puff.” Those nods are cute, but it’s really the chorus that clinches the song as one of the year’s best. Is “SpongeBob big guy pants okay” a “good” lyric? That’s a complicated question. It’s memorable. It’s direct. It’s straightforward. It’s not lying to you. It’s aspirational. It’s daring the listener to step outside their comfort zone, just as Ice Spice is doing by making a song for an animated movie. It’s a song you can memorize about 20 seconds in, as long as you can remember five words in a row. And in case you doubt her commitment to the bit, there’s even an Ice Spice-ified fish present in the music video, orange hair and all.
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The Oscar for Best Original Song often goes to one of three types: an emotional, resonant song in a film sung by a big star (“What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish for Barbie); a new track for an original musical (“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez); or an undeniable banger that has managed to transcend the film for which it was composed (“Naatu Naatu” by M.M. Keeravani and Chandrabose for RRR). It’s time to get another banger back in the mix. It’s time for “Big Guy” by Ice Spice from The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants. It’s time for “Spongebob big guy pants okay.” It’s a song for everyone, which so few songs are these days. We should see “Big Guy” through to its logical conclusion: a live performance up on the Oscar stage as the camera pans across Jessie Buckley or Jeremy Strong or Cynthia Erivo nodding along. Even Diane Warren — who may lose yet another Oscar in this category — would be hard-pressed to say that “Big Guy” doesn’t have the sauce. The category isn’t Best Good Song, it’s Best Original Song, and “Big Guy” is nothing if not original.
