🔗 Share this article

Would the original fans who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series persisting for a 25 years, following experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? This longevity is in part attributed to its broad appeal, amusing the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this latest movie thinks nothing of making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Groove

Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon finds a recognizably goofy groove. Its script serves as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a detail that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best modern American animation, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship adds a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful mix of digital animation and hand-crafted elements, consistently highlighting pleasing, authentically cartoonish effects.

Whether its freewheeling humor will linger after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to delight the younger audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid addition to the franchise – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, including a hearty Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early students will likely be snickering all over again.

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