Zany Adventure or Sinking Ship: ‘The Spongebob Movie: Search For Squarepants’ Review

SpongeBob SquarePants has been a Nickelodeon staple since 1999, travelling from generation to generation, leaving his indelible mark on each child. My brother, now 20, grew up on the sponge, and my son, now 7, followed behind him. As SpongeBob makes his triumphant return to the big screen in ‘The SpongeBob Movie: The Search For SquarePants,’ the audience has to wonder if, after pushing 30 years, SpongeBob, Patrick, Mr Krabs, and Squidward still have it. The answer is simple. Yes, yes, they do.

‘The Search For Squarepants’ is silly and over the top, but it’s also a lot of fun, even for the adults in the crowd. I found myself laughing out loud and getting genuine joy from how much my son was enjoying himself in the movie HE PICKED. ‘The SpongeBob Movie: The Search For Squarepants’ at its core is a children’s movie that delivers an important message about growing up too fast, but it’s also a good time for parents and children alike, leaving no one feeling like they were left at sea.

SpongeBob wants to be a big guy so he can ride the big rollercoaster at the amusement park. The problem for SpongeBob, unfortunately, is that while he may be tall enough, he’s not really big enough to not be absolutely terrified of the ride he so desperately wants to get on. What ensues is a hilarious adventure with a delightful cast of characters, including the show’s favorites, of course. The story is simple, but it conveys a big message that’s important to young and old alike. Though you may be tall enough, you just may not be ready to make that jump to being a big guy, and that’s ok.

Big Ideas For A Small Audience

‘The SpongeBob Movie: The Search For Squarepants’ is a children’s movie and thus should absolutely be treated as such. There is a very specific audience that this is made for. We don’t want to have our kids consume movies without substance, but we aren’t exactly asking it to be ‘Casablanca’ either. Fortunately, ‘SpongBob’ finds a happy medium between big ideas and silly childlike humor.

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That balance is important when trying to get a big idea across to a small audience. My son was able to talk about the overarching moral of the story. This moral is important to parents who hear their children say all of the time, “I can’t wait until I’m big enough to..” Our porous hero meets the audience where it’s at and takes them on an engaging adventure. It was a genuinely good time. The film never insulted my or my child’s intelligence, leaving us with something to talk about on the drive home.

A Hit of Nostalgia

I am a Nickelodeon kid. Always have been. Always will be. I grew up on ‘The Adventures of Pete and Pete,’ ‘Hey Dude,’ ‘Salute Your Shorts,’ and ‘Rocko’s Modern Life.’ For adults taking their child to see ‘The SpongeBob Movie: The Search For SquarePants,’ this is the hit of nostalgia you’ve been looking for. It evokes that silly, almost too adult humor that I loved as a kid. It provided a bridge for me and my own son to enjoy together, bringing out the inner child that used to sit up waiting for SNICK to come on each Saturday Night.

As adults, we sometimes lose ourselves in the minutiae of life. Spending time with our kids affords us the ability to go back to our roots and truly be kids again. ‘SpongeBob’ does a great job of providing the avenue in which to do that. It’s not overly silly, even the silliest of jokes lands for big and small alike. There are no insults to anyone’s intelligence; in fact, the characters that react to the silliness feel like the adults in the room some of the time. This grounds them in some form of reality that doesn’t involve a ton of suspension of belief. The film just works, and it’s genuinely a TON of fun.

Final Thought:

‘The SpongeBob Movie: The Search For SquarePants’ is a movie made for kids, and it very much could have played into that target audience. However, it didn’t. The film is a funny, silly, good time that can bridge the gap between young and old.

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