The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Dose of Snicker-Inducing Fun
Could those original fans who laughed through the first SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the series persisting for a 25 years, following experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? Such longevity is in part due to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it may not feature anything quite as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Zany Groove
Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's other weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon finds a comfortably goofy groove. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated exploration on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it finally qualifies him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic gag: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest modern American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.
The Quest for Pirate Proof
SpongeBob's mission to obtain the fabled pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted elements, consistently highlighting pleasing, properly animated visuals.
Whether its spitballing humor will resonate when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.
Notable moments feature SpongeBob wedging 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 delight the younger crowd: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.
The Verdict
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid addition to the series – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, including a robust Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those early students will probably be snickering anew.
Release Dates: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on December 19th in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.
