Do You Need To Watch The Bob's Burgers Series Before Seeing The Movie?

"The Bob's Burgers Movie" sends the Belcher family on their most epic adventure to date. Normally, the family just has to deal with making enough money to pay the rent or going on some excursion in their shoreside town, but in the film, they're doing it all. The Belchers only have a few days to pay off their rent, and to make matters worse, a giant sinkhole has opened in front of their restaurant. On top of all that, a skeleton's discovered in the hole, meaning the whole family has to go to extraordinary lengths to save not only the restaurant but themselves.

It's a great film for fans of "Bob's Burgers." The movie contains plenty of callbacks to the series, such as the reference to Gene's band, The Itty Bitty Ditty Committee. There are also inside jokes about the One-Eyed Snake biker gang and Ghost Boy. But while that's all fine and dandy for people who have seen the show, it makes sense that it would worry newcomers at risk of being alienated from all the references. Thankfully, some nice Redditors have come to the rescue to put those fears at ease.

The general consensus among fans is that while being a "Bob's Burgers" fan will certainly enhance one's enjoyment of the movie, it's not essential for having a good time. Redditor u/NollBrain asked if they would not feel lost watching the film if they'd never seen the show, and they received a bevy of responses. The most thorough answer came from u/HappyChaosOfTheNorth, who wrote, "The story is solid enough to stand on its own, sure, you might miss some references and will have a different experience than the fans who know all the characters and whatnot, (especially the ones who make cameos) but I think you'd still enjoy it if it's your type of [humor]."

Redditor u/burgeremoji was in agreement: "I took my mum to see the movie and she really loved it. I think if you don't watch the series you're only missing out on more context to the characters, who really are great. But it's a fantastic standalone movie." In case you want a little more context before you go see the film, Slashfilm compiled the 10 most essential episodes to watch before the movie. They include such classics as "Ear-sy Rider," which helps viewers understand just how important Louise's ears are to her.

"The Bob's Burgers Movie" is currently playing in theaters, but you'll be able to catch it on Hulu starting on July 12 (via Deadline). That's plenty of time to catch up on the series at least a little bit before checking out the movie when it drops on streaming.