🔗 Share this article

Would the early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise enduring for a 25 years, following experiencing the most surreal of narrative twists? This staying power 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 very young viewers. Although it may not feature anything as unexpected as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Vibe

Kicking off with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a recognizably goofy rhythm. Its script acts as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it finally qualifies him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best contemporary American animation, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's visual style remains a charming mix of digital animation and hand-crafted elements, consistently highlighting pleasing, properly animated visuals.

Whether its spitballing humor will linger after the credits is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow squarer than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the series – and perhaps the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, including 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 fans will likely be snickering anew.

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.