10 Essential Bob's Burgers Episodes You Have To Watch Before The Movie

For over a decade, the animated series "Bob's Burgers" has stolen the hearts of viewers all across the world, with Bob (H. Jon Benjamin), Linda (John Roberts), Tina (Dan Mintz), Gene (Eugene Mirman), and Louise Belcher (Kristen Schaal) becoming pop culture icons. As the 12th season chugs on and the team preps for the upcoming 13th, fans won't have to wait long to reunite with their favorite burger flipping family, as "The Bob's Burgers Movie" is heading to theaters faster than Speedo Guy on his roller skates.

The film focuses on the Belcher family after a ruptured water main creates a gigantic sinkhole blocking the entrance to the restaurant, essentially ruining any chance they had at a successful summer and squeezing the Belcher family's finances more than ever. Bob and Linda do their best to keep the restaurant alive, while the kids work together to solve a mystery of their own that could be the key to saving Bob's Burgers.

The world of "Bob's Burgers" is vast and full of favorites, but never fear, even casual fans can (and will) enjoy "The Bob's Burgers Movie." However, if you're someone looking for a crash course on the best burger joint conveniently located on Ocean Avenue, we've got you covered. Here are 10 essential "Bob's Burgers" episodes to watch before the movie, curated by a Belcher obsessed fan and arranged in order of original air date.

Tina has had an on-again, off-again, on-again-but-now-with-more-butts, crush on Jimmy Jr. throughout the series, and the season 2 episode "Bad Tina" is one of the best showcases of her complicated feelings toward him. This episode establishes the long-running gag of Tina's notebook filled with "erotic friend fiction," where she writes about her greatest fantasies with Jimmy Jr., usually including zombie boyfriends and a lot of sexy butt shaking. This episode is also where Tina first meets her frenemy Tammy, whose bad influence has Tina turning away from her usual good-natured behavior and getting detention on a night she's supposed to babysit her siblings. When Tina finally decides to give up her bad girl ways, Tammy threatens to read her erotic friend fiction in front of the whole school, inspiring Gene and Louise to take matters into their own hands. This is not only one of the best episodes of the entire series, but a perfect way to remember the lengths the Belcher family are willing to go to have each other's backs, and the odd ways Tina processes her feelings of attraction.

The funeral home next door to the restaurant is hosting a service for a guy named Horny Dave, the former head of a motorcycle gang called the One Eyed Snakes. The group shows up at Bob's Burgers to drink to his memory after, completely wrecking the place in the process. As an apology, the group's new leader, Critter, pays for the damage and gives Bob an IOU card good for a favor from the One Eyed Snakes. Meanwhile, Louise seems to have met her match in the form of a high schooler named Logan, who steals her trademark bunny-eared hat and drives her to madness in an attempt to get them back. Actor Kristen Schaal hinted at WonderCon that the movie would answer some of fans' burning questions surrounding Louise's emotional support bunny ears, and this is the first episode that gives audiences a look at her true feelings toward her hat.

Finances have always been tight for the Belcher family, but Linda has the checkbook balancing down to a science. Despite her efforts, she feels unappreciated and decides to take a job at a Trader Joe's-style grocery store called Fresh Feed, leaving Bob to run the joint on his own. The episode boasts one of the best songs of the series, the Bob and Linda duet "This is Working." The kids love visiting Linda at her new job, with Gene now having a direct line to free samples and Tina developing a romance with a mysterious boy she meets in the milk fridge. The episode is a great showcase of why the Belcher family are at their best when they're working together, and proves that Linda truly is the glue that keeps the family and the resturaunt running smoothly.

Felix Fischoeder (Zach Galifianakis) is the temperamental younger brother of the Belcher's landlord Calvin Fischoeder (Kevin Kline), the wealthy property tycoon who also runs the Wonder Wharf amusement park, the Wonder Wharf Wonderdogs baseball team, and a handful of other shady side businesses. In his debut appearance, Felix is tasked with repairing the bathroom at Bob's Burgers, and the complicated relationship he has with his brother is well on display. It's implied that Felix is entirely dependent on Calvin's financial generosity, despite his immense jealousy, having outbursts like, "You think you're so great, Calvin, just because you came out of mommy's hootenanny first!" Felix is one of the secondary players featured in the movie, and getting to know him and his relationship with Calvin is essential.

The end of season 4 marks the end of the story arc of "How Bob Saves/Destroys the Town." With "The Bob's Burgers Movie" focusing on Bob and Linda once again having to save the restaurant while the town's issues, like that dang sinkhole, causes them strife. The Wharf is a major focus in the movie, as are the Fischoeder brothers, so getting an intimate look at the mysteries of the Wharf is an absolute necessity. Bob and Mr. Fischoeder are forced to find common ground, and the end of the season marks a slight change in their understandings of one another. The two-parter episode also shows the strength of "Bob's Burgers" in long form storytelling, which should hopefully ease the concerns of anyone fearful the half-hour weekly series can't make the jump to feature length. Trust and believe, the Belchers are more than capable of going the distance.

At this point in the series, Teddy might as well be the "fifth Beatle" equivalent to the Belcher family. The restaurant's most dedicated regular has had a few Teddy-centric episodes over the course of the show's run, but "Friends with Burger-Fits" is one of the most personal looks at the friendship between Bob and Teddy. After Bob discovers that his burgers may be contributing to Teddy's bad health, he signs up to be his workout buddy to allow Teddy to spend time with him without feeling compelled to eat at the restaurant. The kids and Linda open an underground ice wrestling league in the cooler while Bob is out, but this episode is all about Teddy and Bob. The trailer to "The Bob's Burgers Movie" shows Teddy hanging out with Bob and Linda on the pier outside the Wharf selling burgers on a hastily made food cart, because his undying loyalty to the Belcher family is unmatched. This episode is a great primer on the close relationship he has with the family, the restaurant, and most importantly, his best friend Bob.

Gene gets a lot of attention throughout the series for his middle-child needs for attention, his musical stylings, and his inability to handle stress. Gene is a consistent joy in the universe of "Bob's Burgers" and home to some of the best one-liners in the whole series. The season 5 episode "The Itty Bitty Ditty Committee" is one of the best showcases of what makes Gene such a great character, and how infectious his music can be to his friends and family. In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment in the trailer for the film, Gene is seen dressed like a rockstar, with an equally stylish looking Peter Pescadero looking on from behind. Peter Pescadero is one of Gene's go-to buddies, but with both of them looking like glam rockers, getting reacquainted with the Itty Bitty Ditty Committee couldn't hurt.

The trailer for the film shows a moment where Louise, clad in pajamas, talks to life sized versions of her beloved toys, Bakeneko, Akkorokamui, Dodomeki, Mizuchi, Kuchi Kopi, and melted Kuchi Kopi. All of her anthropomorphic toys are first shown with their own personalities during the season 7 episode "Flu-ouise," where Louise has a fever dream and imagines herself in a Miyazaki-esque wonderland with oversized friendly beasts who boast similar voices to her family members. The episode also deals with the family trying to repair Louise's beloved Kuchi Kopi after he's accidentally damaged, and allows Louise to show a level of vulnerability she typically keeps under wraps. With the Belchers heading to the big screen, it's safe to assume stakes will be higher, and we'll see sides of characters we don't always see. Louise is so much more than the "maniacal laughter in front of a fire" gif that has become one of her most memorable moments.

A majority of the time we see Jimmy Jr. throughout the series, his trusty sidekick Zeke is never far behind. These two boys are ride or die for each other, with Jimmy Jr. frequently changing his opinions based on what Zeke tells him is cool, and sometimes that includes Tina. She desperately tries to get "J. Ju's" attention, but he's so preoccupied with Zeke that she might as well be invisible. Well, Zeke gets himself in some trouble and is at risk of being sent away to a disciplinary school, so the gang tries their hardest to save him, but Tina still sees him as a roadblock between her and Jimmy Jr. Eventually, Tina does get it together and realize that she's being selfish, and it shows some genuine emotional maturity regarding her relationship with Jimmy Jr. If "Bad Tina" was our introduction to her schoolgirl crush on Jimmy Jr., "Yes Without My Zeke" is her finally growing up.

If you look closely in the trailer, you can spot a glimpse of Mickey, the former bank robber turned Wonder Wharf ride operator (and sometimes rideshare driver) that the kids have developed an unlikely friendship with, much to Bob's dismay. The kids frequently call on the assistance of the random adults in their lives, because it truly does take a village, my dudes, and Mickey is no exception. "Beach, Please" is an episode from the current season, which shows Louise doing her best to outsmart Mr. Fischoeder, after obtaining some intel from Mickey, and Mr. Fischoeder doing his best to take advantage of free child labor. The relationship between Fishoeder and the kids is one that always brings laughs, because the kids feel zero pressure to appease him the way Bob and Linda do, and Fischoeder has no problems bullying children, calling Louise a "pesky garbage urchin" in one of the funniest exchanges. It's an episode filled with little moments from a lot of the best secondary characters, which will surely give the perfect energy leading into "The Bob's Burgers Movie."

"The Bob's Burgers Movie" hits theaters on May 27, 2022.