🔗 Share this article

Could those original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise enduring for a 25 years, following experiencing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such longevity is partly attributed to its broad charm, amusing the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it may not feature anything quite as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Groove

Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon settles into a recognizably silly groove. Its script serves as a PG-rated exploration on the pros and cons of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a fact that excites him as it finally qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy gag: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the best modern American cartoons, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship adds a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned elements, consistently showcasing satisfying, properly cartoonish visuals.

Whether its freewheeling silliness will resonate when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the younger audience: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid addition to the franchise – and perhaps the funniest pirate-themed movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early fans will likely be chuckling all over again.

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