SpongeBob's Latest: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Helping of Snicker-Inducing Fun
Could those original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the series persisting for a quarter-century, even after absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the funny bones of adults – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
An Established Goofy Groove
Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon settles into a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its script acts as a family-friendly exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that excites him as it finally qualifies him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best modern American cartoons, the real rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.
The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials
SpongeBob's mission to secure the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted elements, forever showcasing satisfying, authentically cartoonish visuals.
Whether its spitballing humor will linger when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.
Memorable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit 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 crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.
The Verdict
In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the series – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original fans will likely be chuckling anew.
Release Dates: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on December 19th in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.
