🔗 Share this article

Would the original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series enduring for a quarter-century, following absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? This staying power is in part attributed to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the funny bones of adults – possibly even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. While it may not feature anything as surprising as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this latest movie has no qualms about making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon finds a recognizably silly groove. Its script acts as a family-friendly exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that excites him as it at last allows him to experience 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 narrative.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted components, consistently showcasing pleasing, authentically cartoonish visuals.

If its freewheeling silliness will linger when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Memorable moments include SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably squarer than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to delight the younger audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the franchise – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those early fans will probably be snickering anew.

Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on 19 December in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.