🔗 Share this article

Would the original fans who laughed through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise persisting for a 25 years, following experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is partly due to its broad charm, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it may not feature anything as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this latest movie has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Kicking off with a holiday short starring Paramount's alternative weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie quickly finds a comfortably silly rhythm. Its script acts as a PG-rated exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the finest modern American animation, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted components, consistently highlighting pleasing, authentically animated effects.

Whether its spitballing humor will linger when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably squarer than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment sure to delight the younger crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid addition to the series – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie in years, 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 certain: those original fans will likely be chuckling all over again.

Release Dates: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on 19 December in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.