The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – A Swashbuckling Helping of Snicker-Inducing Silliness
Would the early viewers who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series enduring for a quarter-century, following experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This staying power is partly attributed to its broad charm, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything as surprising as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Zany Groove
Kicking off with a holiday short starring Paramount's other weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon finds a recognizably goofy groove. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a detail that excites him as it finally qualifies him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, as in the best contemporary American animation, the real rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.
The Quest for Pirate Proof
SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a grander scope, the movie's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted elements, consistently highlighting pleasing, properly cartoonish effects.
If its spitballing humor will linger when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.
Notable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow more rectangular than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to delight the younger audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.
The Verdict
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the series – and arguably the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those original fans will likely be chuckling anew.
Release Dates: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on December 19th in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.
