The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Helping of Snicker-Inducing Fun

Could those early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the series persisting for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? Such staying power is in part attributed to its broad charm, tickling the sense of humor of adults – possibly even those former students – alongside the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything as surprising as the legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while handing out payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Groove

Starting with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a comfortably silly groove. Its script acts as a family-friendly exploration on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a fact that thrills him as it at last allows him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, as in the finest contemporary American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the twisting narrative.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship adds a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a delightful mix of digital animation and hand-crafted elements, consistently highlighting satisfying, properly cartoonish effects.

If its spitballing silliness will linger after the credits is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Memorable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and coming out somehow more rectangular than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the series – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original fans will probably be chuckling all over again.

Release Dates: 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.