The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Dose of Snicker-Inducing Fun
Would the early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the franchise persisting for a quarter-century, following experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? This longevity is in part due to its broad appeal, amusing the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.
An Established Zany Groove
Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie quickly finds a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a detail that excites him as it at last allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic gag: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the best contemporary American cartoons, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.
The Adventure for Swashbuckling Proof
SpongeBob's mission to secure the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted components, consistently showcasing satisfying, properly cartoonish effects.
If its freewheeling humor will resonate when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.
Memorable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow squarer than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment sure to resonate with the younger crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.
The Verdict
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the franchise – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those early students will likely be snickering anew.
Release Dates: 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.
