The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – A Swashbuckling Helping of Snicker-Inducing Silliness
Could those original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise persisting for a quarter-century, following experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? This longevity is in part attributed to its wide-ranging appeal, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
An Established Zany Vibe
Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon settles into a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its script serves as a family-friendly exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a fact that excites him as it finally allows him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, psychedelic laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the best modern American animation, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.
The Adventure for Pirate Proof
SpongeBob's quest to secure the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-turned components, forever highlighting satisfying, properly cartoonish effects.
If its freewheeling silliness 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 air conditioner and emerging inexplicably squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.
The Verdict
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those early students will likely be snickering all over again.
Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on December 19th in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.
