The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – An Adventurous Helping of Snicker-Inducing Silliness
Would the original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series persisting for a 25 years, following experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? Such longevity is in part attributed to its broad charm, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything as surprising as the legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this latest movie has no qualms about making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.
An Established Zany Groove
Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a recognizably silly groove. Its script acts as a family-friendly exploration on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a detail that excites him as it finally allows him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An early, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the finest modern American animation, the real rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.
The Quest for Pirate Proof
SpongeBob's mission to obtain the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-turned components, forever showcasing pleasing, properly cartoonish visuals.
If its freewheeling humor will linger when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.
Memorable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow squarer than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.
The Verdict
In the end, Search for SquarePants is a solid addition to the franchise – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original students will probably be chuckling anew.
Release Dates: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on 19 December in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.
