SpongeBob's Latest: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – A Swashbuckling Helping of Giggle-Provoking Fun

Would the original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the franchise persisting for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? This longevity is in part due to its broad charm, amusing the sense of humor of adults – possibly even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. While it may not feature anything quite as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo 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 everything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Vibe

Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon settles into a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its script acts as a family-friendly exploration on the pros and cons of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it finally allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best contemporary American animation, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a grander scope, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-crafted components, forever highlighting pleasing, properly animated effects.

Whether its freewheeling humor will linger after the credits is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the series – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie recently, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original fans will probably be chuckling anew.

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