🔗 Share this article

Could those early viewers who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the franchise persisting for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? Such longevity is partly due to its broad charm, tickling the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as surprising as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Vibe

Starting with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly settles into a recognizably silly rhythm. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it finally allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, like the best modern American animation, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.

The Adventure for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship adds a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a delightful mix of digital animation and hand-turned components, consistently highlighting satisfying, properly cartoonish effects.

If its freewheeling humor will linger after the credits is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment sure to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the series – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those original students will probably be chuckling anew.

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