The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Dose of Giggle-Provoking Fun
Would the original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the series enduring for a 25 years, following experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This longevity is in part due to its broad charm, amusing the funny bones of adults – possibly even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature has no qualms about making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
An Established Zany Groove
Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's alternative long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon finds a recognizably goofy groove. Its script acts as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a fact that excites him as it finally allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, trippy gag: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the real thrill ride is the twisting plotting.
The Quest for Pirate Credentials
SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the film's aesthetic remains a charming mix of digimation and hand-crafted components, consistently showcasing pleasing, authentically animated effects.
If its spitballing humor will resonate when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.
Notable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging inexplicably squarer than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the franchise – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those original students will probably be snickering all over again.
Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on 19 December in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.
