Could those early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the series persisting for a quarter-century, even after absorbing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This staying power is in part due to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. While it may not feature anything as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.
Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon settles into a recognizably goofy rhythm. Its script acts as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it at last qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best modern American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the twisting narrative.
SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned elements, forever highlighting pleasing, properly animated effects.
Whether its spitballing humor will resonate after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.
Memorable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow squarer than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the younger crowd: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.
Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid addition to the series – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original fans will likely be snickering 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.
