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

Could those early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise enduring for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging appeal, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as surprising as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this latest movie thinks nothing of making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Groove

Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon settles into a recognizably silly rhythm. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it at last allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the real rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure 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 suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned elements, forever highlighting pleasing, properly animated visuals.

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

Memorable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and emerging inexplicably squarer than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to resonate with the younger crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the series – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones gag and a cheekily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those early students will likely be snickering anew.

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