The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – A Swashbuckling Dose of Snicker-Inducing Fun
Would the early viewers who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series persisting for a 25 years, following experiencing the most surreal of narrative twists? This staying power is partly due to its broad appeal, tickling the funny bones of adults – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything as surprising as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while handing out payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Goofy Vibe
Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon settles into a comfortably silly rhythm. Its storyline 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 detail that excites him as it finally allows him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, trippy laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, as in the finest modern American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.
The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials
SpongeBob's mission to obtain the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a charming mix of digital animation and hand-crafted elements, forever highlighting satisfying, authentically cartoonish visuals.
Whether its freewheeling silliness will linger after the credits is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.
Notable moments include SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.
The Verdict
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid addition to the franchise – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those early students will probably be snickering anew.
Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on December 19th in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.
