SpongeBob's Latest: Search for SquarePants Film Critique – A Swashbuckling Helping of Giggle-Provoking Silliness

Would the original fans who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series enduring for a quarter-century, following absorbing the most lysergic of narrative twists? Such staying power is partly attributed to its broad charm, tickling the funny bones of adults – possibly even those former students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it may not feature anything quite as unexpected as the legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this latest movie thinks nothing of having Clancy Brown 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.

An Established Zany Vibe

Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's alternative weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon settles into a recognizably goofy groove. Its script acts as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, as in the finest modern American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.

The Adventure for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's mission to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a charming mix of digital animation and hand-turned components, forever highlighting pleasing, properly animated effects.

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

Memorable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and coming out inexplicably squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment sure to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the series – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original fans will probably be chuckling all over again.

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