The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – A Swashbuckling Dose of Giggle-Provoking Fun
Could those early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the franchise persisting for a quarter-century, even after experiencing the most surreal of narrative twists? This staying power is in part due to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it may not feature anything as unexpected as a certain 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 royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.
An Established Goofy Vibe
Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon finds a comfortably goofy groove. Its script acts as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it at last qualifies him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, trippy gag: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the finest contemporary American animation, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.
The Quest for Swashbuckling Proof
SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship adds a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned elements, forever highlighting pleasing, authentically cartoonish visuals.
Whether its spitballing silliness will resonate after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.
Notable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably more rectangular than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the series – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those early students will probably 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.
