The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – A Swashbuckling Helping of Snicker-Inducing Silliness
Could those original fans who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series persisting for a 25 years, following absorbing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This staying power is in part due to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this latest movie has no qualms about making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Goofy Vibe
Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's other weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly finds a recognizably silly rhythm. Its script serves as a family-friendly exploration on the pros and cons of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a detail that excites him as it at last allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the best modern American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.
The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials
SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted elements, consistently highlighting satisfying, properly cartoonish visuals.
Whether its spitballing silliness will linger after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.
Memorable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow squarer than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.
The Verdict
In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the series – and arguably the most humorous pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original students will probably be snickering anew.
Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on 19 December in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.
