The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – An Adventurous Helping of Snicker-Inducing Silliness
Would the original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series enduring for a 25 years, following absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those former students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it may not feature anything quite as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Zany Groove
Kicking off with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon settles into a comfortably silly rhythm. Its storyline acts as a family-friendly exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a detail that excites him as it finally allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best modern American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.
The Adventure for Swashbuckling Proof
SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-turned elements, forever highlighting satisfying, authentically cartoonish visuals.
If its spitballing humor will resonate after the credits is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.
Memorable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.
The Verdict
In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those early fans will likely be snickering anew.
Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on December 19th in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.
