Would the early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series enduring for a 25 years, following absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? This longevity is partly attributed to its broad charm, tickling the funny bones of adults – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as surprising as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about making a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Zany Vibe
Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's other weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon settles into a recognizably goofy rhythm. Its script acts as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a detail that thrills him as it finally allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the finest contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.
The Adventure for Pirate Proof
SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the movie's visual style remains a charming mix of digital animation and hand-crafted elements, consistently showcasing pleasing, authentically animated effects.
If its freewheeling silliness will linger when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.
Memorable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the franchise – and perhaps the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those early students will likely be snickering anew.
Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on 19 December in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.