🔗 Share this article

Would the original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the franchise enduring for a 25 years, following experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? Such longevity is in part attributed to its broad appeal, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – alongside the very young viewers. Although it may not feature anything as unexpected as the legendary 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 royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Vibe

Kicking off with a festive short starring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon finds a recognizably goofy rhythm. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a fact that excites him as it at last allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, like the best contemporary American animation, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-crafted elements, consistently highlighting satisfying, authentically cartoonish visuals.

Whether its freewheeling silliness will linger after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Memorable moments include SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and coming out inexplicably more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the series – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a cheekily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those early students will probably be snickering anew.

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