The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Helping of Giggle-Provoking Fun
Could those early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the series enduring for a quarter-century, even after experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? Such longevity is partly due to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Zany Vibe
Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's alternative weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly finds a comfortably silly rhythm. Its script acts as a PG-rated exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that thrills him as it finally allows him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.
The Quest for Pirate Credentials
SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary 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 introduces a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a charming mix of digital animation and hand-turned elements, forever highlighting pleasing, authentically animated visuals.
If its spitballing silliness will linger when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.
Notable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the younger crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.
The Verdict
In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the series – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a saltily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early students will likely be chuckling all over again.
Release Dates: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on 19 December in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.
