The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Dose of Snicker-Inducing Fun
Would the early viewers who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise persisting for a quarter-century, even after experiencing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging appeal, tickling the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – alongside the very young viewers. While it may not feature anything quite as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this latest movie has no qualms about making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Goofy Groove
Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly settles into a recognizably goofy rhythm. Its storyline acts as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that excites him as it finally qualifies him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the best modern American cartoons, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.
The Quest for Swashbuckling Proof
SpongeBob's mission to obtain the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful mix of digital animation and hand-crafted elements, forever highlighting pleasing, properly cartoonish visuals.
Whether its spitballing silliness will resonate when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.
Notable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and coming out somehow more rectangular than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to delight the younger audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.
The Verdict
In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the series – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early students will likely be chuckling all over again.
Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on December 19th in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.
