The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – A Swashbuckling Dose of Snicker-Inducing Fun
Would the early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series enduring for a 25 years, following experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This staying power is partly attributed to its wide-ranging appeal, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything as surprising as the legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this latest movie has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
An Established Goofy Vibe
Starting with a holiday short featuring Paramount's alternative long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film quickly finds a recognizably goofy rhythm. Its script serves as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a detail that thrills him as it finally allows him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best contemporary American animation, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.
The Adventure for Swashbuckling Proof
SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-turned elements, forever showcasing pleasing, authentically cartoonish visuals.
Whether its freewheeling humor will linger when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.
Notable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging inexplicably more rectangular than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to endless 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, including a hearty Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original students will likely be snickering all over again.
Release Dates: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on December 19th in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.
