The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – A Swashbuckling Dose of Snicker-Inducing Fun

Would the original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series enduring for a quarter-century, following absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? Such staying power is in part due to its broad appeal, amusing the sense of humor of adults – perhaps even those former students – alongside the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as surprising as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Starting with a holiday short featuring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film quickly finds a recognizably silly groove. Its script serves as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An early, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, like the best contemporary American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.

The Quest for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's quest to secure the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-turned components, consistently highlighting pleasing, properly animated visuals.

Whether its spitballing silliness will linger when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Memorable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow more rectangular than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty sure to resonate with the younger crowd: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a saltily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original students will likely be chuckling all over again.

Release Dates: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on December 19th in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.