Since his first appearance in 1999, SpongeBob SquarePants has been one of Nickelodeon’s most popular and celebrated characters. His show’s surreal, wacky humor for all ages made the early seasons quick fan favorites. However, as the show has continued, it has lost some of its charm and become more of a cash grab. The newest movie featuring SpongeBob, “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” was advertised as a diversion from this trend, bringing back some of the old-school vibes from SpongeBob’s early seasons. And, while it was not perfect, the new film delivered and was a fresh break from the corporate, soulless episodes that Nickelodeon has released over the past few years.
The movie’s plot was alright, but not exceptional. SpongeBob discovers that he has grown slightly in height, which means to him that he is a “big guy.” After a strange montage of him and his best friend, Patrick, saying the phrase “big guy” repeatedly set to an Ice Spice song, they go to their favorite amusement park and wait in line for a ride that SpongeBob can now go on. However, after the worker, also played by Ice Spice, lets him through, SpongeBob realizes that he is too afraid to ride on the roller coaster. He flees to the Krusty Krab, where his boss, Mr. Krabs, tells him how he used to be a swashbuckler. In an attempt to prove that he, too, has a swashbuckler’s courage, SpongeBob goes to the lowest level of the building, where he finds a way to summon the fearsome Flying Dutchman, a ghostly pirate who leads SpongeBob to an area where he can, according to the Dutchman, become a swashbuckler himself. This contradicts earlier SpongeBob lore by making it seem that SpongeBob and Patrick had never met the Dutchman before, but attention to continuity matters less in kids’ movies.
One reason that this movie felt like old-school SpongeBob is that (most of) the original cast was there and clearly enjoying themselves. For some reason, the studio recast the Flying Dutchman as Mark Hamill while the original voice actor, Brian Doyle-Murray, was and is still alive and still voices the Dutchman on the show. It is undisclosed why they did this; it could be that Doyle-Murray simply did not want to act through an entire movie, especially since the Dutchman had some live-action scenes, or the studio may have wanted the star power that Hamill brings. Either way, the actors’ voices are distinct, and it is hard to ignore the feeling that something is off early on while the Dutchman speaks, although he is on screen so often that one can eventually become accustomed to it. Most other members of the original cast, however, were able to reprise their roles and, according to interviews and public appearances, genuinely enjoyed their time working on this film. Since it is a kids’ comedy, the actors’ enjoyment contributes to their performance and on-screen presence.
Another thing that makes “Search for SquarePants” feel like classic SpongeBob is its comedy. I was surprised by how often it made me laugh. Like classic SpongeBob, it had its moments of absurdity and moments of relatability, and it blended them well. That said, some moments, like the Ice Spice song and subsequent cameo, felt like out-of-touch attempts to reach younger audiences.
Every character had a purpose and felt unique. SpongeBob and Patrick are both naïve and comically idiotic sea creatures, but SpongeBob is well-meaning and always motivated, while Patrick is obsessed with childish things like blowing bubbles. The Dutchman and Mister Krabs are both greedy old men who are experienced in their lives, but the Dutchman is motivated entirely by his greed, while Mr. Krabs has to overcome it because he values his relationship with SpongeBob more.
Ultimately, the movie is a fun watch. It is neither too kiddy nor too mature in its comedy and themes. It is not one that I would list as one of the greatest of all time, but I would still recommend it to anyone who is a fan of SpongeBob or just bored.
