The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Helping of Giggle-Provoking Silliness

Would the early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series enduring for a 25 years, following experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? This staying power is in part due to its broad appeal, amusing the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this latest movie thinks nothing of having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Groove

Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie quickly finds a recognizably goofy groove. Its script acts as a PG-rated exploration on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the finest modern American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the twisting narrative.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful mix of digital animation and hand-crafted components, forever highlighting satisfying, authentically animated visuals.

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

Memorable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and emerging inexplicably more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the franchise – and arguably the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, including 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 fans will likely be chuckling all over again.

Release Dates: 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.