The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Dose of Giggle-Provoking Fun
Could those early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series persisting for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? Such staying power is in part due to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the sense of humor of adults – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. While it may not feature anything as surprising as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Zany Groove
Kicking off with a festive short starring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a recognizably goofy rhythm. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated exploration on the pros and cons of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a detail that excites him as it finally allows him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An early, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, as in the best modern American animation, the true rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.
The Adventure for Swashbuckling Proof
SpongeBob's mission to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-turned components, forever highlighting satisfying, authentically animated effects.
If its spitballing silliness will resonate when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.
Memorable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably more rectangular than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.
The Verdict
In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the franchise – and arguably the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke 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 all over again.
Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on 19 December in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.
