🔗 Share this article

Would the original fans who laughed through the initial SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the series persisting for a quarter-century, even after absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? This staying power is partly due to its broad appeal, amusing the funny bones of adults – possibly even those former students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this latest movie thinks nothing of making a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Vibe

Kicking off with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly settles into a recognizably goofy groove. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a detail that thrills him as it finally allows him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, as in the best contemporary American cartoons, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.

The Adventure for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a delightful mix of digital animation and hand-turned elements, forever highlighting satisfying, properly animated effects.

If its spitballing silliness will linger after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Memorable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging inexplicably more rectangular than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the franchise – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a cheekily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those early students will likely be chuckling anew.

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