🔗 Share this article

Could those early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series persisting for a quarter-century, following experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? This staying power is in part attributed to its wide-ranging appeal, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it may not feature anything quite as unexpected 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 royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Vibe

Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's alternative long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon settles into a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its storyline acts as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a detail that excites him as it at last allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Proof

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted elements, consistently showcasing pleasing, authentically animated visuals.

If its spitballing silliness will resonate when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Memorable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those early students will probably be chuckling all over again.

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