Would the original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series persisting for a quarter-century, even after experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? This staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging appeal, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – 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 cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about having Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
An Established Zany Groove
Kicking off with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon finds a recognizably silly rhythm. Its script serves as a PG-rated exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it at last qualifies him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, like the finest contemporary American animation, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.
The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials
SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-turned elements, consistently showcasing satisfying, properly animated effects.
If its spitballing silliness will linger after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.
Notable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably more rectangular than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty sure to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid entry to the series – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early students will likely be chuckling all over again.
Release Dates: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on 19 December in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.
