Ahoy everyone and welcome to a brand new review! Today I am going to be discussing the latest big screen, nautical adventure centered around everyone’s (if only by default) favorite cartoon sponge! Ever since premiering in 1999, SpongeBob has gone on to become a juggernaut that still runs to this day and has spawned into so many other different medias. This includes feature films and on the theatrical front, they’ve been quite successful. The first one is just spectacular on so many levels, while Sponge Out of Water is a very fun and worthy addition to the franchise. While I haven’t gotten around to Sponge on the Run or the Sandy Cheeks Movie, I did find 2025’s Plankton: The Movie to be a pretty decent spin off film that would’ve been better served as a special episode. However, while that one premiered on Netflix, Search for SquarePants was the one to get the theatrical treatment after originally being intended for streaming at one point. As a fan of the IP, I was looking forward to this and was curious to see what the creative team had in store for this. Was this a seaworthy adventure? Lets jump right in and see if this movie is worthy of being a Big Guy!
The feature follows SpongeBob as he sets out to try and ride an intense rollercoaster with his best friend, Patrick, with him now being tall enough to ride it. However, once they get there, he becomes too afraid to ride it and goes to Mr. Krabs for advice, due to him once being a swashbuckler. While at the Krusty Krab he and Patrick end up stumbling upon Krabs’s basement and accidently summoning the infamous ghost pirate, The Flying Dutchman, who finds that this innocent Sponge is just what he needs to escape his curse. Thus, the Dutchman takes the two to the Underworld in order to achieve his quest, while Mr. Krabs, Squidward, and Gary go on a rescue mission in order to hopefully save their friends and stop the Dutchman before it is too late.
Newer SpongeBob media tends to get looked down upon due to constant comparisons to the classic stuff a lot of my people my age grew up with and while I do think there is a noticeable shift in the kind of humor that’s at the forefront, I still think this stuff can still be quite enjoyable on its own merits. All this to say is that I think The Search for SquarePants is another fun adventure that shows that this franchise still has quite a bit of life left in it. It suffers a bit from not quite feeling big enough to make one completely see why this got the theatrical treatment as it does feel like an extended episode, but I do think it is better paced than Plankton was and the jokes are a lot more consistent. I found that there were plenty of great laughs to be had as director Derek Drymon, and the writers do a nice job of creating various gags and set pieces that provide plenty of amusement. The comedy can be very clever, with some neat wordplay and a number of very funny self aware bits that play into the silliness of it all, without feeling like it is being dumbed down for kids.
The direction the story takes isn’t too surprising, but I was genuinely surprised at how much heart is in the proceedings. The “learning to be proud of who you are” messaging is developed quite nicely and while similar to what the first movie was doing, is able to change certain things in order to present it differently and in a way that is very sweet and sincere. As fast paced and episodic the proceedings are, it never got to the point where it felt like too much and rarely was I ever annoyed with it, save for some repetitive bits that get dragged out a little too much (most of them stemming from Patrick). Plus, the movie does end off very strong with the third act just going pure bonkers in a way that I love about the best of SpongeBob and there’s a manic energy present that just makes me smile and shows that the people working on SpongeBob still have plenty of imagination left in them, that I think gives a lot of the newer stuff value.
When it comes to the animation present in the SpongeBob theatrical outings, I appreciate how each one looks different from the other and how they manage to work in their own ways, while often looking like truly big screen worthy approximations of the show. Search for SquarePants is the probably the least ambitious in this regard, but still works well on a visual level. It is the second of these to be fully CG animated after Sponge on the Run and while the former is more stylized, this one is going for a move conventional approach, but the animators still do solid work. The classic character designs are translated very nicely into CGI with the necessary adjustments made to make that happen and I think there’s a lot of imagination in regards to the various monsters and obstacles that proliferate the Underworld as well. The movements are also smooth, with the animators excelling when it comes time for some fast paced motions where the energy is perfectly displayed and makes the comedic bits even more effective. I think the backgrounds are nicely realized with The Underworld being a really fun environment that manages to be foreboding (in a kid friendly way) and used well for some very funny moments. On that note, I was especially amused when live action elements came into the fray as I always love it when SpongeBob utilizes those. It is used in such an over the top way that just had me smiling and the way the human actors chew the scenery and play into the absurdity unfolding is a delight.
As for how all the classic characters are handled, I was quite pleased with that as well. After not really caring too much for his role in the Plankton movie, I think SpongeBob is served a lot better as the lead of his own story, but also because I felt he was actually given some good comedic material to work with here. He remains a likable and endearing presence whose optimism has always been infectious, even if I do admit to liking that edge he had in the earlier seasons. As mentioned before, his arc well done here and I specifically loved the role Mr. Krabs (once again voiced by the always wonderful Clancy Brown) plays here as the relationship between him and SpongeBob serves as the film’s emotional core. Him learning to overcome his past and try to save SpongeBob from making the same mistakes is a good way to add a certain level of stakes from a character level to the proceedings and I thought some of the interactions they have with one another is really sweet and made for a refreshing way of showcasing their relationship.
As for the other characters, Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke) also tags along and gets his moments of comical obliviousness, even if some of his bits run a little longer than needed and I do prefer his characterization in the earlier seasons more than later on (though he has improved greatly from how he was portrayed in some of the middle seasons) and Squidward (Roger Bumpass) is also just there to be his usual annoyed and sarcastic self, which still manages to work. Among the bigger selling points of this feature though was getting to see Mark Hamill himself voice The Flying Dutchman (filling in for Brian Dole-Murphy who voiced him on the show), one of the more prominent antagonists in all of SpongeBob media. While I do love Dole-Murphy in this role and think that he would’ve killed here, I thought Hamill did a great job as expected, perfectly embodying the character’s gleeful menace and maniacal energy. He functions well as a villain for this story as someone trying to take advantage of SpongeBob’s kindness in order to further his own gains and a lot of his jokes really land, in no small part thanks to Hamill’s delivery. He also gets the chance to showcase some great physicality as the movie goes along into the climax where it looks like he is having the time of his life getting to go full on comedy mode as a cartoonish villain with one of the most ridiculous motivations in recent memory when one thinks about it (though it works and had me in stitches). I also really enjoyed his trusted assistant, Barb, as they have a fun dynamic, she gets a lot more to do than I expected from this kind of character and Regina Hall gives a great raspy vocal performance that just makes her jokes land better as the reactor to a lot of the crazy shenanigans.
On the whole, I had an enjoyable time with The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants as it delivered the right level of amusement I expect from a SpongeBob project. It doesn’t do anything revolutionary for the brand as the story isn’t anything spectacular, not all the jokes land, and some characters are given more to do than others. That being said, it is still consistently entertaining with some really funny jokes, some nice heart, colorful visuals, a lot of energy, solid voice work, and some well done character interactions. If one hasn’t been a fan of newer SpongeBob media, I don’t think this will change those minds, however for those who aren’t as picky in that regard or for families and kids who still love watching the show, this does the job as a nice, pleasant adventure. It serves a reminder as to why I enjoy these characters so much, with a lovely moment near the end making me appreciate just how far the series has come and what the late Stephen Hillenberg has created with this wacky bunch of nautical creatures. They have provided many fond memories for me and I hope that that will continue for younger fans of Mr. SpongeBob Big Guy Pants (oh what a song Ice Spice did for this…).
Rating: B
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