Update: Disney has since sent out another version of the release schedule that does indeed include the Bob’s Burgers movie on its originally scheduled July 17, 2020 date. One has to wonder if the ongoing confusion caused by the Disney-Fox merger caused some crossed wires that originally caused it to be left out. Regardless, this would seem to indicate that the film will indeed have a theatrical release as previously thought.
The idea of a feature-length Bob’s Burgers movie in wide theatrical release always did seem a little bit too good to be true, didn’t it? The Belchers have been a steady force in the Fox animation lineup for years now, true, and the critically acclaimed series has amassed a sizable fanbase, but still—this was never The Simpsons, and even that series only received a single feature film. And so, we’re saddened but not entirely surprised to see that Disney has apparently pulled the Bob’s Burgers movie from its planned release schedule for 2020. The film had previously been scheduled for July 17, 2020, but doubt began to creep in as soon as Disney completed its buyout/merger with Fox, which was previously handling the release.
Thankfully, this isn’t to say that we shouldn’t expect to ever get a look at the film that Loren Bouchard and team have spent several years laboring on. It’s hard to believe, after all, that all the sunk costs that went into animating and assembling a Bob’s Burgers movie would ever go completely to waste, especially with a fan base that will be hollering for its release. Rather, this seems like it could instead by the first in a series of steps that eventually leads to the Bob’s Burgers movie being released via a streaming service, but it Disney Plus or Hulu, where episodes of the show currently reside. And for the millions of us who enjoy queuing up re-runs from the comfort of our own couch, that’s probably good enough.
Here’s hoping that Bouchard or members of the cast will begin dropping some hints in the near future that will help us at least suss out a general window of when we might finally expect the film to make its debut.