🔗 Share this article

Could those early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series persisting for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? This staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything quite as surprising as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about having Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Vibe

Starting with a holiday short featuring Paramount's alternative weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon finds a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its script serves as a PG-rated exploration on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a fact that thrills him as it finally allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, as in the best contemporary American animation, the true thrill ride is the twisting plotting.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship adds a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a charming mix of digimation and hand-turned components, forever showcasing satisfying, authentically animated effects.

Whether its freewheeling humor will linger when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and coming out somehow more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment sure to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid addition to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, including a hearty Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original students will likely be snickering anew.

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