The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – A Swashbuckling Helping of Giggle-Provoking Silliness
Would the early viewers who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series enduring for a quarter-century, following experiencing the most surreal of narrative twists? This staying power is in part attributed to its broad appeal, tickling the sense of humor of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this latest movie thinks nothing of having a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
A Familiar Goofy Groove
Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film quickly settles into a recognizably silly groove. Its storyline acts as a family-friendly exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it at last qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the finest contemporary American cartoons, the real thrill ride is the twisting plotting.
The Adventure for Swashbuckling Proof
SpongeBob's quest to secure the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-turned components, forever highlighting pleasing, properly animated visuals.
If its freewheeling humor will linger after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.
Notable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the six-year-old crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.
The Verdict
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid addition to the series – and arguably the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original students will probably be snickering all over again.
Release Dates: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on December 19th in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.
