About the film (courtesy of Paramount Pictures):
Desperate to be a big guy, SpongeBob sets out to prove his bravery to Mr. Krabs by following The Flying Dutchman – a mysterious swashbuckling ghost pirate – on a seafaring comedy-adventure that takes him to the deepest depths of the deep sea, where no Sponge has gone before.
Fresh from the biggest and best pineapple under the sea, SpongeBob splashed onto the big screen with high-quality 3D animation in The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants. The latest SpongeBob movie is a perfect culmination of humor for kids while still entertaining parents. There are many jokes that may fly just high enough past the children’s heads to still be caught by parents taking a break to enjoy an enjoyable popcorn flick. This creates an enjoyable experience and features a song and voice acting performance from Ice Spice.
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants excels a lot more than expected with its animation. Going from the show’s known and loved 2D animation style to 3D is a drastic change and can be a lot for an audience to get used to, but after a brief period of adjustment, it builds the expectation that this is how the series could have been viewed the whole time.
Diehard fans of the show may have a tougher time than others with this change, though. It perfectly utilizes this new style for similar cutaway gags that one should expect from a SpongeBob movie. The only area that could be negatively reported on would be the live-action sequences of the film, where the green screen effect shines through a bit too much to be ignored, resembling an early 2000’s Disney show.
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants also features a lot of the same voice actors that have filled their roles for decades now: Tom Kenny as SpongeBob, Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick, Clancy Brown voicing the ever-greedy Mr. Krabs, Rodger Bumpass as Squidward who is goaded into the ride, Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy, and surprisingly Mark Hamill as the Flying Dutchman. Some of these characters get a lot more screen time than others, and this can leave people wanting if their favorite side character gets sidelined for this tale, as the movie mainly focuses around the first four characters.
The plot for The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants is driven by SpongeBob’s desire to prove himself as a “Big Guy” (also the name of the main song created by Ice Spice) after being terrified to ride a rollercoaster. He sets out on a quest to become a Swashbuckler with the Flying Dutchman and his crew after hearing Mr. Krabs regale his history and tales as one.
Krabs knows that the Dutchman just set up his best and brightest fry cook in a trap that could spell his doom! He rushes to save SpongeBob from the Dutchman’s clutches with Gary, Patrick, and Squidward in tow. This makes for fun chase scenes and silly sequences between both groups.
Overall, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants is a pleasant experience that kids and parents alike are sure to appreciate. With wacky music, classic SpongeBob comedy, and Easter eggs tossed in that long-running fans of the series will love. However, one of the biggest bonuses of getting to see this film in theaters was the pre-show, which featured a mini Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie that is worth getting to your seats early for! This serves as an appetizer to an already enjoyable sea-themed main course.
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants opens in theaters December 19th.
