SpongeBob's Latest: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Helping of Giggle-Provoking Fun
Would the early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series enduring for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? This staying power is in part attributed to its broad appeal, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything as unexpected as the legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie thinks nothing of making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Zany Vibe
Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon finds a recognizably silly rhythm. Its script acts as a PG-rated treatise 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 dream rollercoaster. (An early, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best contemporary American animation, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.
The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials
SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted elements, forever showcasing satisfying, properly cartoonish visuals.
Whether its spitballing silliness will linger when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.
Memorable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow more rectangular than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.
The Verdict
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid entry to the series – and perhaps the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those original students will probably be chuckling anew.
Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on December 19th in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.
