The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – An Adventurous Helping of Giggle-Provoking Silliness
Would the early viewers who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise enduring for a 25 years, following experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This staying power is in part attributed to its wide-ranging appeal, tickling the sense of humor of adults – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie thinks nothing of having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Goofy Groove
Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a detail that thrills him as it finally allows him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best contemporary American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.
The Adventure for Pirate Credentials
SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship adds a grander scope, the film's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted elements, consistently highlighting satisfying, authentically cartoonish visuals.
If its spitballing humor will linger after the credits is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.
Memorable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and coming out somehow squarer than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to delight the younger audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.
Final Thoughts
In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the series – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a saltily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those early students will likely be snickering all over again.
Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on December 19th in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.
