🔗 Share this article

Would the early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series persisting for a 25 years, following experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? This longevity is in part due to its broad charm, amusing the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – alongside the youngest viewers. While 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 having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Vibe

Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's other long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film quickly finds a comfortably goofy groove. Its script acts as a family-friendly exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a detail that excites him as it finally qualifies him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the best contemporary American animation, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a grander scope, the film's aesthetic remains a charming mix of digital animation and hand-turned components, consistently showcasing satisfying, properly animated effects.

If its freewheeling humor will linger when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Memorable moments include SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid addition to the series – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal 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 debuts on December 19th in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.