The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – A Swashbuckling Helping of Giggle-Provoking Silliness
Could those original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise enduring for a quarter-century, even after absorbing the most lysergic of narrative twists? Such longevity is partly due to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – possibly even those former students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while handing out payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
An Established Zany Groove
Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's other long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly finds a comfortably silly rhythm. Its script serves as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a fact that excites him as it finally qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.
The Quest for Pirate Proof
SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate 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 film's visual style remains a delightful mix of digital animation and hand-crafted elements, consistently highlighting pleasing, authentically cartoonish visuals.
Whether its spitballing humor will resonate after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.
Notable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty 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 solid addition to the series – and perhaps the funniest pirate-themed movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original students will probably be chuckling anew.
Coming to Theaters: 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.
