The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – A Swashbuckling Helping of Snicker-Inducing Fun

Could those early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise enduring for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is in part due to its broad charm, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – possibly even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it may not feature anything as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about having Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Vibe

Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie soon settles into a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its script serves as a family-friendly exploration on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it at last qualifies him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best contemporary American animation, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Proof

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted components, consistently highlighting pleasing, authentically cartoonish visuals.

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

Notable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to delight the younger audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the franchise – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early students will probably be snickering anew.

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.