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 series enduring for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such staying power is in part due to its wide-ranging appeal, amusing the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it may not feature anything quite as surprising as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Goofy Groove
Kicking off with a festive short starring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film quickly finds a comfortably silly rhythm. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated exploration on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it at last qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the best modern American animation, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.
The Quest for Pirate Proof
SpongeBob's mission to secure the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-turned components, consistently highlighting satisfying, authentically animated visuals.
If its spitballing humor will resonate when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.
Notable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and coming out somehow squarer 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 addition to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those original fans will likely be snickering all over again.
Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on 19 December in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.
