🔗 Share this article

Would the original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the franchise enduring for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This staying power is partly due to its broad charm, amusing the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those former students – alongside the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything can still in the zany 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 movie soon finds a recognizably goofy groove. Its script serves as a family-friendly exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it at last qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, as in the best contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship adds a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-turned components, forever showcasing pleasing, properly animated effects.

If its freewheeling humor will linger after the credits is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the younger crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the series – and perhaps the funniest 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.” It's clear: those original students will likely be chuckling all over again.

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