The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – A Swashbuckling Helping of Snicker-Inducing Silliness
Could those early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series persisting for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is in part due to its broad appeal, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. While it may not feature anything quite as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this latest movie has no qualms about having Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.
An Established Zany Vibe
Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's other weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film quickly settles into a comfortably silly rhythm. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it at last qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the finest modern American cartoons, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.
The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials
SpongeBob's quest to secure the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a grander scope, the movie's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-turned components, consistently highlighting satisfying, authentically cartoonish visuals.
Whether its spitballing humor will resonate after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.
Memorable moments include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.
The Verdict
In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the series – and arguably the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original fans will probably be snickering all over again.
Release Dates: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on 19 December in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.
