The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Helping of Giggle-Provoking Silliness

Could those early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series persisting for a quarter-century, following absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? This longevity is partly attributed to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Vibe

Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's alternative long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie quickly finds a comfortably silly rhythm. Its script acts as a PG-rated exploration on the pros and cons of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it finally allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, as in the best contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Proof

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned elements, forever showcasing pleasing, authentically cartoonish effects.

If its freewheeling humor will linger when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow more rectangular than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the series – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed 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.” It's certain: those original fans will probably be chuckling all over again.

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.