SpongeBob's Latest: Search for SquarePants Review – A Swashbuckling Dose of Snicker-Inducing Fun

Would the original fans who laughed through the initial SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the series persisting for a quarter-century, even after experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? This staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those former students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as surprising as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this latest movie has no qualms about having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Vibe

Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie soon finds a recognizably silly rhythm. Its script serves as a family-friendly treatise 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 dream rollercoaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.

The Adventure for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-crafted components, consistently highlighting pleasing, properly animated visuals.

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

Notable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably more rectangular than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty sure to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the series – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those original fans will likely be chuckling anew.

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