🔗 Share this article

Could those early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series persisting for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? This staying power is partly due to its broad appeal, amusing the sense of humor of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. While it may not feature anything as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature has no qualms about having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Vibe

Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film quickly settles into a recognizably silly groove. Its storyline acts as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy gag: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the finest modern American cartoons, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.

The Quest for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-turned elements, consistently highlighting satisfying, authentically animated visuals.

If its freewheeling humor will linger after the credits is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging 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 sure to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a solid addition to the series – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie in years, including a hearty Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original students will likely be snickering anew.

Release Dates: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on 19 December in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.