Director: Derek Drymon
Writers: Pam Brady, Matt Lieberman
Stars: Tom Kenny, Clancy Brown, Bill Fagerbakke
Synopsis: 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 adventure that takes him to the deepest depths of the deep sea, where no Sponge has gone before.
With 2020’s Sponge On The Run acting as a pandemic/streaming release of sorts, it’s hard to believe that The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants marks the yellow square’s return to the big screen after 10 years. It’s hard to continue innovating the Stephen Hillenburg-created show when it’s been on air for over 25 years, and even more so when you’re the 4th film in the franchise. But Search for SquarePants attempts to bring back many of the hallmarks of the SpongeBob of old. Cartoony expressions galore, and the abstract absurdity many have come to love are present, but unfortunately, Search for SquarePants doesn’t quite reach the thresholds of what the franchise once was. I can appreciate the more episodic nature of Search for SquarePants’ plotting, but its attempts at creating the same cartoonish energy as the show fall flat due to its odd 3D animation implementation and a greater number of misses than hits in the comedy department. There’s a laugh to be had every once in a while, and this is certainly better than the laziness present in Sponge on the Run, but Search for SquarePants struggles to be much else besides an aggressively average adventure for the famous sea sponge.
Search for SquarePants starts as most episodes of the show would, with an energetic SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) eager to seize the day. After discovering he’s now 36 clams (instead of inches) tall, SpongeBob is now eager to finally become a big guy, but his boss and mentor, Mr Krabs (Clancy Brown), thinks he’ll be nothing more than a bubble-blowing baby. After hearing Mr Krabs’ tale of becoming an epic sailor and earning a swashbuckler certificate, SpongeBob sets out with his best friend Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke) to get his own by journeying with The Flying Dutchman (Mark Hamill) in the underworld to complete every skill of courage listed on the certificate. Little does SpongeBob know, the Dutchman has his own motive on this journey to use SpongeBob’s innocence to break the curse that has been inflicted on him for hundreds of years, so he can transform into a human again. Feeling at fault for SpongeBob’s situation, it’s up to Mr. Krabs and the always jaded Squidward (Rodger Bumpass) to warn SpongeBob before it’s too late.
Even within predictable plot beats that have been used countless times in other children’s films, there are still hallmarks of SpongeBob that keep Search for SquarePants somewhat afloat. The implementation of silly live action and hybrid animation footage has been present in episodes of the show and all four of the films for multiple years now, and its abundance throughout the third act is still creative here. What’s even more appreciated is the specific focus on SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs’ friendship in this entry, which makes for a nice character dynamic that was never present in other SpongeBob films. None of the film’s messaging or cartoony elements are that groundbreaking for the franchise on the whole, but it does represent a solid entry point for someone completely new to the world of this series.
Where Search for SquarePants tends to fizzle is through its recycled plot beats and humor in general. It’s quite apparent that the main plotline of SpongeBob yearning to be respected amongst others and not seen as a baby is the exact main story that was present in the original 2004 film. This wouldn’t really matter as much if the film were funnier, as SpongeBob is centered on its comedy after all, but most of the jokes here fall short. The jokes work best when they’re more verbally based or homed in on the absurdity of some of the series’ best cartoonish expressions, but much of it is repetitive and centered on a lot of the same butt based gags that are somewhat funny at first and pretty grating after the tenth time.
Then there’s the visuals, which are a mixed bag of not ever bad looking, per se, but their presentation in comparison to the usual animation of the show is off. There are plenty of goofy faces and pleasant visuals for the eyes to see, but the animation so clearly wants to emulate the 2D look of the mainline show, through full 3D models instead. Sometimes the film succeeds at this, other times it feels very awkward. It’s all still very competently helmed, but the plastic look of the 3D models of these distinct characters just feels off; even Sponge On The Run was a more creative implementation of SpongeBob in 3D than something that looks more in the vein of a slightly higher budget TV special.
SpongeBob still remains his plucky, bright yellow, and absorbent self, and younger audiences and their parents alike will be satisfied with Search for SquarePants, but the cartoon sponge’s latest film outing couldn’t be more forgettable on the whole. The film is nowhere near the level of bottom-of-the-barrel children’s entertainment we’ve seen in the past, but “It could’ve been much worse!” isn’t exactly the highest of compliments, especially with the previous highs these films have reached comedically.
