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

Would the original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series persisting for a quarter-century, following experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? Such staying power is partly due to its broad charm, amusing the sense of humor of adults – perhaps even those former students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it may not feature anything as surprising as the legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Vibe

Starting with a holiday short featuring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a recognizably goofy rhythm. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a detail that thrills him as it finally allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, trippy laugh: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the finest modern American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a charming mix of digital animation and hand-turned components, forever highlighting pleasing, authentically animated visuals.

If its freewheeling humor will linger when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the series – and arguably the most humorous pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those early fans will probably be chuckling anew.

Coming to Theaters: 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.