🔗 Share this article

Would the original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series enduring for a quarter-century, following experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? This staying power is in part due to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the funny bones of adults – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it may not feature anything quite as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Vibe

Kicking off with a holiday short starring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly settles into a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its script serves as a PG-rated exploration on the pros and cons of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a detail that excites him as it at last qualifies him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best contemporary American animation, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Quest for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a charming mix of digital animation and hand-crafted components, forever showcasing pleasing, authentically cartoonish visuals.

Whether its spitballing humor will resonate after the credits is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and coming out somehow squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to resonate with the younger crowd: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a saltily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original fans will probably be snickering all over again.

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