SpongeBob's Latest: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – A Swashbuckling Dose of Snicker-Inducing Fun
Could those original fans who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the franchise enduring for a quarter-century, even after experiencing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such staying power is in part attributed to its broad appeal, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those former students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
An Established Goofy Vibe
Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's other long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon finds a comfortably goofy groove. Its script serves as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration 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 ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.
The Quest for Pirate Credentials
SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship adds a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-turned elements, forever showcasing satisfying, properly animated visuals.
Whether its spitballing silliness will linger when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.
Memorable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop 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 is a reliable entry to the franchise – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original students will probably be chuckling all over again.
Coming to Theaters: 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.
