The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – An Adventurous Dose of Snicker-Inducing Silliness
Would the original fans who laughed through the first SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the franchise enduring for a 25 years, following absorbing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This staying power is in part attributed to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the sense of humor of adults – perhaps even those former students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything as surprising as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this latest movie has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Goofy Vibe
Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's alternative weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon settles into a comfortably silly rhythm. Its script serves as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it finally allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy gag: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best contemporary American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.
The Adventure for Swashbuckling Proof
SpongeBob's quest to secure 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 ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship adds a larger scale, the movie's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-turned components, consistently highlighting pleasing, properly cartoonish effects.
If its freewheeling silliness will resonate when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.
Notable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow more rectangular than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.
Final Thoughts
In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid entry to the series – and arguably the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early fans will probably be chuckling anew.
Release Dates: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on December 19th in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.
