The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Helping of Giggle-Provoking Fun

Would the early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise persisting for a quarter-century, following experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This staying power is in part due to its broad appeal, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it may not feature anything as unexpected as the legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Groove

Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie quickly finds a recognizably goofy rhythm. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best modern American animation, the true thrill ride is the twisting plotting.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned components, forever highlighting pleasing, authentically cartoonish effects.

If its spitballing silliness will linger after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the franchise – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a robust Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original fans will probably be snickering anew.

Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on December 19th in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.