More than a quarter century after his watery debut, the hopelessly innocent and optimistic little sponge is still going strong, entertaining generations of viewers. His most recent outing? His fourth big screen outing was SpongeBob: The Search for SquarePants.
A scene from SpongeBob: Search for Squarepants (Images courtesy of Paramount Pictures International)
The movie begins with SpongeBob (voiced by Tom Kenny) waking up in his pineapple under the sea, to the happy realization that he is now 36 clams tall and officially a “big guy”. Just like many a little tyke up here in the surface world dreaming to be big and tall, this is cause for celebration.
Being a “big guy” means the height-nazis can’t refuse entrance to the big boy theme park rides. In ridiculous cartoon fashion, the ride proves to be too much for SpongeBob, and he ends up chickening out. Still determined to prove himself more than a bubble-blowing softie, he and his brainless pal, Patrick (Bill Faberbakke) end up going on an adventure in the underworld with the Flying Dutchman, played in deliciously evil fashion by none other than Mark Hamil.
Mr. Krabs, played by Clancy Brown, the ever-depressed Squidward (Rodger Bumpass) and SpongeBob’s pet snail Gary chase them down to try and rescue them, resulting in all sorts of mayhem.
There’s something to be said about the idea of becoming a big guy, of growing up, of stepping into bigger shoes, and reaching that goal of earning more respect, freedom, and more perks. This also, however, comes with more responsibilities.
But you won’t find any of that here.
No sir, what you’ll find here are butt jokes and absurdist slapstick. But this is SpongeBob we have here, a Nickelodeon original. He’s been doing butt jokes for 16 seasons, four films, a bunch of video games, and comic books. Anything less would be insulting to his fans.
SpongeBob: Search for Squarepants is a fun-filled animated romp, one that delivers exactly what it promises – laughs. Great fun for kids and grown-ups alike.