The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Helping of Snicker-Inducing Silliness
Would the original fans who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise persisting for a 25 years, following experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? Such staying power is in part attributed to its broad charm, amusing the funny bones of adults – perhaps 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 cameo 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. This proves anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Goofy Vibe
Kicking off with a festive short starring Paramount's other weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon finds a recognizably silly rhythm. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it finally allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic laugh: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the finest contemporary American animation, the true thrill ride is the twisting plotting.
The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials
SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's visual style remains a charming mix of digital animation and hand-turned elements, forever showcasing pleasing, properly cartoonish visuals.
Whether its freewheeling silliness will linger when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.
Memorable moments include SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and coming out inexplicably more rectangular than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment sure to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.
The Verdict
In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the franchise – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a robust Davy Jones gag and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those early fans will probably be snickering anew.
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.
