The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Review – A Swashbuckling Helping of Giggle-Provoking Silliness

Could those early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series persisting for a quarter-century, following absorbing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging appeal, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything as unexpected as the legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Vibe

Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's other long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a comfortably goofy groove. Its storyline acts as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that excites him as it at last allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-turned elements, consistently highlighting satisfying, authentically cartoonish visuals.

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

Notable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and coming out somehow more rectangular than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the franchise – and arguably the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those early fans will probably be chuckling all over again.

Coming to Theaters: 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.