‘The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants’ Review: The Bikini Bottom Crew Triumphs in Another Rollicking Undersea Comedy

Breathlessly enthusiastic trailers and cheeky online promotional campaigns (“This Christmas, They’re in Deep Ship”) have been popping up everywhere for the new SpongeBob SquarePants movie and it doesn’t even open until December 19. The enduring popularity of the long-running TV series and feature-film franchise with kids, teens, Gen Z and even Millennial fans would seem to make such intensive outreach almost unnecessary, perhaps even redundant.

But SpongeBob represents Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures’ most valuable property, with countless merchandise products, TV series spinoffs, video game adaptations and even a 2017 Broadway musical version to date, so clearly nothing can be left to chance. Even with this impressive legacy to uphold, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants easily delivers another rib-tickling, delightfully frantic fourth installment of the series.

One of the consistent charms of Nickelodeon’s venerable TV show and the ensuing movies has always been the diverse range of characters populating the quirky submerged settlement of Bikini Bottom. Beyond the principals — consisting of the relentlessly optimistic SpongeBob and his dimwitted best bud Patrick Star, along with irritable neighbor Squidward and their employer Mr. Krabs — there’s a vast cast supporting every episode and feature release. These colorful characters include the boss’ teen daughter, sweet-natured sperm whale Pearl Krabs, and scientifically inclined squirrel Sandy Cheeks, as well as evil, ineffective genius Mr. Plankton and Karen, his sarcastic supercomputer wife.

So longtime fans may be understandably disappointed that many of these memorable undersea creatures see limited screen time, elbowed aside in favor of the nefarious ghost pirate the Flying Dutchman and his ghoulish crew. While screenwriters Pam Brady and Matt Lieberman’s calculated tradeoff mostly succeeds, it’s regrettably at the cost of a diminished narrative and tonal range.

On another apparently ordinary day in Bikini Bottom (if there really is such a thing), SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) is elated to learn that he’s finally reached the minimum height required to ride the ginormous “Shipwreck” rollercoaster at the local amusement park. “Now I’m a big guy!” he exclaims. Once he sets eyes on the intimidating attraction, however, he quickly backs out, telling Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke) that he’s already promised to take his initial ride with Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown). Krabs surprisingly goes along with this fib, explaining that SpongeBob isn’t really a big guy after all, since he hasn’t yet demonstrated sufficient fortitude and bravery. Mr. Krabs then reveals his “swashbuckler certificate” from his sailor days to prove his own fearlessness, claiming to have earned it by confronting the Flying Dutchman.

Inspired by Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob resolves to earn his own swashbuckler citation by demonstrating the characteristics of bravery, moxie and “intestinal fortitude” required for the certificate. Poking around in Krabs’ stash of seafaring collectibles, SpongeBob and Patrick inadvertently summon the Flying Dutchman, who promises to help SpongeBob complete his swashbuckling checklist. As he whisks Patrick and SpongeBob away to the depths of the sea aboard his three-masted schooner, the ghostly green pirate secretly plans to exploit SpongeBob’s characteristic gullibility to break the curse that hangs over him so that he can return to human form. When Mr. Krabs discovers SpongeBob’s risky plan, he sets off on a rescue mission, along with Squidward (Rodger Bumpass) and SpongeBob’s pet sea snail, Gary (also voiced by Kenny).

Hamill’s manic portrayal of the shimmering ghost pirate is gleefully evil, as he charms and cajoles SpongeBob through a series of videogame-type challenges that will purportedly earn him his swashbuckling certificate. Once the adventure goes topside, Hamill’s live-action pirate is almost a disappointment after all the unhinged undersea hijinks. Other guest appearances by the likes of George Lopez, Isis “Ice Spice” Gaston, Sherry Cola and Regina Hall are unfortunately almost too brief to register however.

Director Derek Drymon, a veteran of SpongeBob’s early days under series creator Stephen Hillenburg, who passed away in 2018, has a blast envisioning the Flying Dutchman’s “underworld” domain, freely riffing on classic cinematic references, ranging from the Matrix franchise to Apocalypse Now.

Aside from his innate silliness, part of SpongeBob’s enduring charm has always been his irrationally trusting nature. His desire to be a big guy, rather than a “bubble-blowing baby boy” as Krabs derisively describes him, makes SpongeBob an easy target for the dangerously amoral Flying Dutchman, forcing him to muster all the integrity that inevitably empowers him to triumph over his adversaries. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.