The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Dose of Giggle-Provoking Silliness
Would the original fans who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise persisting for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? This staying power is in part attributed to its broad appeal, tickling the funny bones of adults – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything as surprising as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie thinks nothing of making a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Zany Vibe
Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon finds a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly exploration on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that excites him as it at last allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American cartoons, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.
The Quest for Pirate Credentials
SpongeBob's mission to secure the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted elements, consistently highlighting satisfying, properly animated effects.
Whether its freewheeling silliness will resonate after the credits is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.
Notable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to delight the younger audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.
The Verdict
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the franchise – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original fans will probably be chuckling all over again.
Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on 19 December in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.
