SpongeBob's Latest: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Dose of Giggle-Provoking Silliness

Would the original fans who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the franchise persisting for a 25 years, following absorbing the most lysergic of narrative twists? Such longevity is in part due to its broad charm, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this fourth feature has no qualms about making a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while handing out payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Vibe

Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon settles into a comfortably silly groove. Its script serves as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a detail that excites him as it finally qualifies him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the finest modern American cartoons, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a charming mix of digimation and hand-crafted components, consistently showcasing satisfying, properly cartoonish visuals.

Whether its spitballing silliness will resonate after the credits is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Memorable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the franchise – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original fans will likely be chuckling anew.

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