SpongeBob's Latest: Search for SquarePants Review – A Swashbuckling Dose of Giggle-Provoking Silliness
Would the original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series enduring for a quarter-century, even after experiencing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such longevity is partly due to its broad charm, 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 unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about making a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Goofy Groove
Kicking off with a holiday short starring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a recognizably silly groove. Its script acts as a PG-rated exploration on the pros and cons 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 finally allows him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best contemporary American animation, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.
The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials
SpongeBob's quest to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted elements, forever highlighting pleasing, properly cartoonish effects.
Whether its spitballing humor will resonate when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.
Notable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably more rectangular than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the series – and arguably the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a saltily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those early fans will likely be snickering all over again.
Release Dates: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on 19 December in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.
