SpongeBob's Latest: Search for SquarePants Review – A Swashbuckling Dose of Snicker-Inducing Silliness
Would the original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series enduring for a quarter-century, even after absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? This longevity is partly due to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything quite as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this latest movie thinks nothing of making a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
An Established Goofy Groove
Kicking off with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie soon settles into a comfortably silly groove. Its script acts as a PG-rated exploration on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a detail that thrills him as it at last qualifies him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An early, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest modern American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the twisting narrative.
The Adventure for Pirate Proof
SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship adds a grander scope, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted components, consistently showcasing pleasing, properly animated effects.
If its spitballing silliness will linger after the credits is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.
Memorable moments include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably squarer than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to delight the younger audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the series – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original fans will likely be chuckling all over again.
Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on December 19th in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.
