Is this film for kids or adults? I feel like SpongeBob is constantly straddling both worlds. The titular clothed anthropomorphic seasponge looks and acts like a child; the animation sure doesn’t hurt that argument. So, sure, children. However, animating a sponge isn’t exactly animating a shark, now, is it? There are creatures of the sea that will certainly have more appeal than this monolithic marine invertebrate. In fact, if you know what a sea sponge is without ever having consulted this material, you’re likely an adult already. The fact that SpongeBob has a deadend job and a mean boss is also something that will appeal far more to parents than children.
SpongeBob writing tends to split the difference as well. Take, for instance, the fact that The The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants made three separate “shitting a brick” jokes. Now, as a rule, all bathroom humor is puerile in nature. BUT … do kids know the phrase, “shitting a brick?” I’m guessing most do not. Those jokes were for me, too.
I think.
Hard to say. Suffice to point out I like that SpongeBob has gone out of its way to appeal to different audiences. That approach probably won’t win you any awards, but it will generally keep you in business.
Today, SpongeBob is a BIG boy. Despite owning a home and holding down gainful employment as a short line cook, SpongeBob (voice of Tom Kenny) is definitely a child, with child-like dreams, and child-like insecurities. On this morning, SpongeBob discovers he is taller, and not only is he taller, he’s *threshold* taller, for SpongeBob can now ride the scary rollercoaster at Captain Booty Beard’s Fun Park. Ok, yeah, I remember this being a big deal. Proceed.
Oh, but here’s the catch: where SpongeBob is physically able to ride the ride, his emotional maturity is not quite there yet. What’s a poor Sponge to do? After his boss, Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown), intimidates SpongeBob with “in my day” tales, the glum sea sponge discovers pirate-
related relics in Mr. Krabs’ basement, accidentally summons the ghost of The Flying Dutchman, and goes along with a scheme to prove his bigboyhood through elementary swashbuckling lessons … and a few trials. Sure, it’s a cartoon; whatchagonndo?
I’m giving this amiable little nothing of a film a very soft three stars. Yeah, I liked it. I liked Bob’s insecurity and his silly trials, and the discovery that SpongeBob’s Hell is ruled by a three-headed seagull; somehow the latter seems fitting. And yet, The SpongeBob Movie, The: Search for SquarePants is shallow and forgettable. The franchise has done just enough to make me appreciate SpongeBob without doing a single thing that makes me want to watch more SpongeBob. Hence, I’m tempering a positive review with a “so what?”
That Sponge named Bob grew an inch
For destiny at full speed, he did not flinch
But being big requires more
Than a notch on the door
Hence, piracy defeats bravery in a pinch
Rated PG, 88 Minutes
Director: Derek Drymon
Writer: Pam Brady, Matt Lieberman, Marc Cecarelli
Genre: Piracy 101
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: SpongeBob believers
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: True pirates, maybe?
