SpongeBob's Latest: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – An Adventurous Dose of Snicker-Inducing Fun
Would the original fans who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series persisting for a quarter-century, even after experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? Such longevity is in part due to its broad charm, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – possibly even those former students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to stars 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 alternative long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie soon settles into a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated 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 excites him as it finally allows him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An early, trippy gag: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, as in the finest modern American animation, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.
The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials
SpongeBob's quest to secure the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-crafted components, consistently highlighting satisfying, authentically cartoonish visuals.
If its spitballing silliness will resonate after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.
Memorable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging inexplicably more rectangular than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to delight the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.
The Verdict
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the series – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early students will likely be chuckling all over again.
Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on December 19th in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.
