🔗 Share this article

Could those original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise enduring for a quarter-century, following experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? This staying power is in part attributed to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it may not feature anything as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a recognizably goofy rhythm. Its storyline acts as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that thrills him as it at last allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the best contemporary American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the twisting narrative.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest 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 currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-crafted elements, forever showcasing satisfying, authentically animated visuals.

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

Memorable moments include 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 punishment sure to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid entry to the franchise – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those early fans will likely be snickering anew.

Release Dates: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on 19 December in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.