SpongeBob's Latest: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – A Swashbuckling Helping of Snicker-Inducing Silliness

Could those original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise enduring for a quarter-century, following experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? Such staying power is partly attributed to its wide-ranging appeal, amusing the funny bones of adults – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything as surprising as the legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's other weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon finds a comfortably silly rhythm. Its script acts as a PG-rated exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a fact that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, like the best contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-crafted components, consistently showcasing satisfying, authentically animated effects.

If its freewheeling silliness will resonate when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging inexplicably more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the younger crowd: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the series – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie recently, including a hearty Davy Jones gag and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original fans will likely be chuckling anew.

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