SpongeBob's Latest: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Dose of Giggle-Provoking Silliness
Could those early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series enduring for a quarter-century, following experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? Such staying power is partly attributed to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it may not feature anything as surprising as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about making a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.
An Established Goofy Vibe
Kicking off with a holiday short starring Paramount's other weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie soon finds a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated exploration on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best modern American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the twisting plotting.
The Adventure for Swashbuckling Proof
SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted components, forever showcasing satisfying, properly cartoonish effects.
If its spitballing humor will resonate when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.
Notable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably more rectangular than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the six-year-old crowd: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.
The Verdict
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the franchise – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those early fans will likely be snickering anew.
Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on 19 December in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.