The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – A Swashbuckling Dose of Snicker-Inducing Fun
Would the early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the series persisting for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? Such longevity is in part attributed to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything as surprising as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this latest movie has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
An Established Zany Vibe
Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's alternative weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon settles into a recognizably silly groove. Its script acts as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons 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 gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best contemporary American animation, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.
The Adventure for Pirate Proof
SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned components, consistently highlighting satisfying, authentically cartoonish effects.
Whether its freewheeling silliness will linger after the credits is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.
Memorable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow squarer than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.
The Verdict
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the series – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie in years, including a hearty Davy Jones gag and a saltily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those early students will probably be snickering all over again.
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.
