The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – An Adventurous Dose of Snicker-Inducing Fun
Could those early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the series enduring for a quarter-century, even after absorbing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This staying power is in part attributed to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the sense of humor of adults – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it may not feature anything as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this latest movie thinks nothing of making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Zany Groove
Kicking off with a holiday short starring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon settles into a comfortably silly groove. Its script serves as a family-friendly 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 detail that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, as in the best modern American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.
The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials
SpongeBob's quest to obtain the legendary pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned components, forever showcasing pleasing, authentically cartoonish visuals.
If its freewheeling humor will linger when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.
Memorable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and coming out inexplicably more rectangular than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty sure to resonate with the younger crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.
The Verdict
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the series – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original fans will probably be snickering anew.
Release Dates: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on December 19th in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.
