The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Helping of Giggle-Provoking Fun
Would the original fans who laughed through the initial SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the franchise persisting for a quarter-century, even after absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? Such staying power is partly attributed to its wide-ranging appeal, tickling the sense of humor of adults – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.
An Established Goofy Groove
Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon settles into a comfortably silly groove. Its script acts as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it at last allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.
The Quest for Pirate Proof
SpongeBob's mission to secure the fabled pirate license 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 introduces a grander scope, the film's aesthetic remains a charming mix of digimation and hand-crafted elements, forever showcasing pleasing, properly cartoonish visuals.
If its spitballing silliness will resonate when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.
Memorable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.
Final Thoughts
In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid entry to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a saltily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original students will probably be snickering all over again.
Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on 19 December in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.
