🔗 Share this article

Could those original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series enduring for a quarter-century, following absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such staying power is in part attributed to its broad charm, amusing the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it may not feature anything quite as unexpected as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Vibe

Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's other weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie soon finds a recognizably silly rhythm. Its script acts as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the best modern American cartoons, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's quest to secure the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-turned elements, forever highlighting pleasing, authentically cartoonish effects.

If its spitballing humor will resonate when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Memorable moments include SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and coming out inexplicably squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the younger crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid addition to the series – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original students will likely be snickering anew.

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