The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Helping of Giggle-Provoking Fun

Would the early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the franchise enduring for a 25 years, following experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This longevity is partly due to its broad appeal, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything as surprising as the legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Groove

Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's alternative weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a recognizably goofy groove. Its script serves as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it at last allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best contemporary American animation, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.

The Quest for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's quest to secure 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 ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's visual style remains a charming mix of digital animation and hand-turned elements, consistently highlighting satisfying, properly animated effects.

Whether its freewheeling humor will linger after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Memorable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably more rectangular than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those early students will likely be chuckling all over again.

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