Movies - The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, Hollywood honors SpongeBob SquarePants with a hand & footprint ceremony

By Mulder, Los Angeles, TCL Chinese Theatre, 01 to 16 december 2025

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Hand & Footprint Ceremony marked a genuinely surreal yet deeply meaningful moment in Hollywood on December 16, 2025, when SpongeBob SquarePants was officially immortalized with a hand and footprint ceremony at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre. Watching an animated sea sponge join the concrete pantheon alongside cinema legends might sound absurd on paper, but standing there, it felt oddly inevitable. Created in 1999 by Stephen Hillenburg, SpongeBob has long transcended the boundaries of children’s television to become a full-fledged pop culture institution, one capable of spanning generations, formats, and now even Hollywood tradition. The ceremony brought together the beating heart of the franchise, with Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, and Mr. Lawrence all in attendance, joined by Mark Hamill, who voices the Flying Dutchman in the upcoming film, and director Derek Drymon, a longtime creative pillar of the series. The tone of the event perfectly mirrored SpongeBob’s spirit, balancing genuine emotion, playful chaos, and that unmistakable sense that something joyfully unconventional was happening right in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard. It was less about honoring a single movie and more about acknowledging a character who has quietly become one of animation’s most enduring icons.

This celebration arrives just ahead of the theatrical release of The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, the fourth big-screen adventure for Bikini Bottom’s most famous resident following The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004), Sponge Out of Water (2015), and Sponge on the Run (2020). Directed by Derek Drymon, whose history with the franchise dates back to its formative years, the film represents a conscious return to a true theatrical scale after a phase dominated by streaming-oriented spin-offs. Interestingly, the project did not begin life as a SpongeBob-led theatrical feature. It was initially conceived as a direct-to-streaming film centered on Mr. Krabs, in line with character-focused titles like Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (2024) and Plankton: The Movie (2025). That trajectory shifted decisively when Paramount Pictures executives read the early drafts and recognized the cinematic potential of the concept, ultimately reshaping the project around SpongeBob SquarePants himself and officially confirming the film’s development in February 2022. Written by Pam Brady and Matt Lieberman, from a story by Pam Brady, Marc Ceccarelli, and Kaz, the narrative leans into a classic coming-of-age framework, with SpongeBob venturing into the deepest reaches of the ocean to prove his bravery to Mr. Krabs and confront the legendary Flying Dutchman, now voiced by Mark Hamill, replacing long-time series actor Brian Doyle-Murray.

From a creative standpoint, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants strikes a careful balance between familiarity and renewal. Animation duties were handled by Reel FX Animation, officially confirmed in April 2023, and the film retains the expressive, elastic visual language that has defined SpongeBob on the big screen while scaling it up for a more cinematic experience. Cinematography by Peter Lyons Collister and editing by Wyatt Jones help maintain a fast, energetic rhythm that rarely lets the absurdity settle, while John Debney, returning after scoring Sponge Out of Water, provides a musical backbone that shifts effortlessly between epic adventure and tongue-in-cheek comedy. The voice cast brings together the full legacy ensemble—Tom Kenny, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass, Bill Fagerbakke, Carolyn Lawrence, and Mr. Lawrence—while expanding the universe with new additions announced at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June 2025, including Regina Hall, Sherry Cola, Arturo Castro, George Lopez, and Isis “Ice Spice” Gaston. In a move that perfectly aligns with the film’s themes, Ice Spice also contributes an original song to the soundtrack, Big Guy, released on November 13, 2025, underlining SpongeBob’s ongoing quest to be taken seriously without losing his essential innocence.

Premiering on October 26, 2025, as one of the closing films of the AFI Film Festival, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants has already received generally positive reactions, with critics praising its respect for Stephen Hillenburg’s original creation while acknowledging its ability to evolve without betraying its roots. The film is set for theatrical release in the United States on December 19, 2025, distributed by Paramount Pictures, and will be accompanied by the animated short Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Chrome Alone 2 – Lost in New Jersey, reinforcing its positioning as a full-fledged family cinema event. Originally scheduled for a May 2025 release, the film was pushed to December as a ripple effect of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, which reshuffled Paramount’s release calendar and allowed Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning to take the earlier slot. From a Mulderville perspective, this hand and footprint ceremony feels like more than a promotional milestone—it’s a quiet confirmation that SpongeBob SquarePants has earned his place not just in animation history, but in cinema history as well. Few characters manage to remain culturally relevant for over two decades without losing their identity, and even fewer are honored in concrete on Hollywood Boulevard. SpongeBob, improbably and irresistibly, has done both.

Synopsis:
SpongeBob SquarePants and his friends from Bikini Bottom are setting sail for their biggest adventure yet on the big screen: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Determined to prove to Mr. Krabs that he's finally a grown-up, SpongeBob sets off in search of the legendary Flying Dutchman, a fearsome ghost pirate. Prepare for a wild, underwater odyssey packed with laughs, chills, and chaotic escapades, plunging all the way into the ocean’s most mysterious abysses — places where no sponge has ever dared to dive!

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants
Directed by Derek Drymon
Written by Pam Brady, Matt Lieberman
Story by Marc Ceccarelli, Kaz, Pam Brady
Based on SpongeBob SquarePants by Stephen Hillenburg
Produced by Lisa Stewart, Pam Brady, Aaron Dem
Starring Tom Kenny, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass, Bill Fagerbakke, Carolyn Lawrence, Mr. Lawrence, George Lopez, Isis "Ice Spice" Gaston, Arturo Castro, Sherry Cola, Regina Hall, Mark Hamill
Cinematography : Peter Lyons Collister
Edited by Wyatt Jones
Music by John Debney
Production companies : Paramount Animation, Nickelodeon Movies
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release dates : October 26, 2025 (AFI Film Festival), December 19, 2025 (United States)
Running time : 96 minutes