The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – A Swashbuckling Helping of Snicker-Inducing Fun
Could those original fans who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series persisting for a 25 years, following absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? Such longevity is partly attributed to its broad appeal, tickling the sense of humor of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while handing out payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Goofy Vibe
Starting with a holiday short featuring Paramount's alternative long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film quickly finds a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its script acts as a family-friendly exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it at last allows him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest modern American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.
The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials
SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the film's aesthetic remains a charming mix of digital animation and hand-turned components, consistently showcasing satisfying, properly animated effects.
Whether its spitballing humor will linger when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.
Memorable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow more rectangular than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to delight the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.
Final Thoughts
In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the series – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original fans will likely be chuckling anew.
Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on December 19th in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.
