The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Dose of Giggle-Provoking Fun
Could those early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series persisting for a 25 years, following experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This staying power is in part attributed to its broad charm, amusing the funny bones of adults – possibly even those former students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it may not feature anything quite as unexpected as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature has no qualms about making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
An Established Goofy Groove
Kicking off with a holiday short starring Paramount's alternative long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly finds a recognizably silly rhythm. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it at last qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic gag: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.
The Quest for Swashbuckling Proof
SpongeBob's mission to secure the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-turned elements, consistently highlighting satisfying, authentically cartoonish visuals.
Whether its freewheeling silliness will resonate after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.
Notable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow squarer than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to delight the younger crowd: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.
Final Thoughts
In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the series – and perhaps the funniest pirate-themed movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original students will likely be chuckling anew.
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.
