🔗 Share this article

Would the original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the franchise persisting for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the very young viewers. Although it may not feature anything quite as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie thinks nothing of having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's other long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film quickly settles into a recognizably goofy groove. Its storyline acts as a family-friendly exploration on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it finally allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best modern American cartoons, the real rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Proof

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a grander scope, the film's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted components, forever showcasing pleasing, properly cartoonish effects.

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

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably more rectangular than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to delight the six-year-old crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the franchise – and arguably the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early fans will likely be chuckling all over again.

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