SpongeBob's Latest: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – A Swashbuckling Helping of Giggle-Provoking Silliness
Would the original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series persisting for a quarter-century, even after experiencing the most surreal of narrative twists? This staying power is in part attributed to its wide-ranging appeal, amusing the funny bones of adults – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything as surprising as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature has no qualms about making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Zany Vibe
Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly finds a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it at last allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, like the finest modern American animation, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.
The Quest for Pirate Proof
SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the movie's aesthetic remains a charming mix of digimation and hand-crafted components, forever showcasing pleasing, properly animated effects.
If its spitballing humor will linger when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.
Notable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow more rectangular than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.
The Verdict
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the series – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early fans will likely be snickering all over again.
Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on 19 December in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.