The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – A Swashbuckling Helping of Giggle-Provoking Fun
Would the original fans who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the franchise enduring for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? This staying power is partly attributed to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the sense of humor of adults – perhaps even those former students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as surprising as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this latest movie has no qualms about making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
An Established Goofy Vibe
Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's other long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon finds a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that excites him as it at last qualifies him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.
The Quest for Pirate Credentials
SpongeBob's quest to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a charming mix of digimation and hand-turned components, consistently showcasing pleasing, authentically animated visuals.
Whether its spitballing silliness will resonate after the credits is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.
Memorable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow more rectangular than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.
The Verdict
In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the series – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, encompassing a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original fans will likely be chuckling anew.
Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on 19 December in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.
