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

Could those early viewers who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise enduring for a quarter-century, following experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? Such staying power is in part attributed to its wide-ranging appeal, amusing the sense of humor of adults – perhaps even those former students – alongside the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything as unexpected as the legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about having Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Vibe

Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon settles into a comfortably silly rhythm. Its script serves as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it at last qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best modern American cartoons, the real thrill ride is the twisting plotting.

The Adventure for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship adds a larger scale, the movie's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted components, consistently showcasing pleasing, properly cartoonish visuals.

If its freewheeling silliness will resonate when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Notable moments include SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out somehow more rectangular than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to delight the younger audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid entry to the franchise – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: 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.