(The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants

The story begins like a fairy tale, where we learn that a fearsome pirate on his ghost ship is searching for a candid, innocent person to deliver him from his fate and return him to the world of the living. It is 7 a.m., and as usual, SpongeBob gets up, washes, eats breakfast, and measures his height. To his surprise, he realizes that he has grown and is now a big boy, 36 clams tall. Overjoyed, he proudly runs to tell his best friend Patrick the starfish that he can now go to the funfair and is allowed to ride the roller coaster because of his height.

This is how we meet SpongeBob, nicknamed the bubble maker, a simple, happy-go-lucky, friendly creature. Apart from his friend Patrick, he is surrounded by Mr. Krabs, the restaurant owner, a real sea dog, eager to give advice on the marine world and whose voice, provided by Eric Antoine, gives him a certain depth. SpongeBob now feels invested with a mission and an irresistible desire to travel, to experience extraordinary adventures, to discover unexplored areas and distant lands, thus proving to Mr. Krabs that he is capable of acting like a true adventurer. Patrick is keen to accompany him on this journey, which could be dangerous, and the two of them form a happy duo.

It is with some fear and uncertainty that the viewer watches our two companions set off into the unknown. But let's not forget and return to the beginning of our story with the buccaneer nicknamed the Flying Dutchman, who wants to break his sad fate as a ghost. He sets his sights on SpongeBob. So, on the one hand, we see our two friends setting off with total carefree abandon, and on the other, a seasoned pirate with a Machiavellian plan in mind.

This animated feature film directed by Derek Drymon allows us to follow SpongeBob and his teammate through beautiful underwater settings and, as they progress along their route, into darker, more dangerous seas and abysses populated by monstrous creatures. Storms with violent waves batter their frail boat, threatening to capsize them. They also come across mysterious ruins, the only traces of an ancient civilization. We are transported to a parallel world, where the special effects are perfectly rendered thanks to their realism and beauty.

The successive scenes bring dynamism and suspense with the encounter with the buccaneer, who is convinced he will succeed in deceiving the naive Bob. Will they manage to thwart the Flying Dutchman's plans? Nothing is less certain, as our adventurers are inexperienced in this hostile environment of the high seas, but they are armed with courage, deep friendship, and insight despite their apparent naivety, and above all, they are determined to complete their mission. Sitting comfortably in our seats, we would like to warn them of the danger that awaits them. We shiver in anticipation, eager to find out what happens next.

SpongeBob SquarePants combines comedy with fear, as in the impressively reconstructed and thrilling roller coaster ride that makes us shudder. The different themes of ghosts and pirates, the splendor of the marine world, and the funny and crazy characters are the perfect ingredients that contribute to the success of the script and offer a coherent narrative. This family animated feature film is simple but effective and is a pleasure to watch.

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), December 24, 2025 (France)
Running time: 96 minutes

Seen on November 26, 2025, at Pathé Beaugrenelle, Dolby Cinema theater

Cookie's Mark:

There is something almost miraculous about seeing a franchise as old as SpongeBob SquarePants continue to generate public enthusiasm, when most animated brands lost that momentum decades ago. After twenty-six years of television dominance and several forays onto the big screen, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives with the confidence of a franchise that knows its cultural weight, and the marketing campaign, peppered with tongue-in-cheek slogans such as “They're in Deep,” certainly doesn't pretend otherwise. Yet what strikes you from the outset of the film, directed by Derek Drymon, is how faithful it remains to the zany sincerity that made Stephen Hillenburg's creation so successful. It doesn't try to reinvent the oceanic wheel, but it does revisit the franchise's classic mix of absurdity, sweetness, and total chaos, all in a lively adventure that feels like both a nostalgic throwback and a playful self-parody.

The plot is typical of SpongeBob's vintage absurdity: our porous hero, voiced once again by the irrepressible Tom Kenny, wakes up one morning to discover that he has grown exactly one clam in height. This increase may seem microscopic by human standards, but for SpongeBob, it's a rite of passage, the last requirement before he can ride the legendary Shipwreck roller coaster with his best friend Patrick, played with adorable buffoonery by Bill Fagerbakke. As might be expected, when the moment of truth arrives, his courage abandons him and he invents a panicked excuse involving Mr. Krabs, played with exuberant joy by Clancy Brown. What follows is a delightful chain reaction involving misplaced pride, long-buried pirate bragging rights, and a buccaneer's certificate that becomes the film's comedic MacGuffin. What begins as a character trying to prove he's a “big shot” turns into an unwitting resurrection of Bikini Bottom's supernatural menace: the Flying Dutchman.

Mark Hamill, whose energetic and wildly over-the-top performance as the ghostly pirate becomes the film's main thrill. Mark Hamill exploits every ounce of theatrical exaggeration the role allows, channeling the same joyful mischief that made his animated Joker legendary. Here, he manipulates SpongeBob's naive optimism with a mix of con man charm and supernatural mischief, dragging Bob and Patrick into an underwater world that resembles a warped video game level come to life. Derek Drymon and his team use the setting to push the franchise visually further than usual: creepy bioluminescent corridors, eyeball-headed jellyfish, skeleton armies, details that almost flirt with legitimate horror before being counterbalanced by a perfectly timed gag. Even when the film briefly shifts into live-action territory for the Dutchman's sequences on the surface, the animated chaos remains its beating heart.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is the confidence with which the film plays with tone. Beneath the acid-hued chaos lies a surprisingly serious thread about courage, identity, and the pressures of growing up, or at least trying to appear grown up. It's a theme SpongeBob has touched on before, but here it takes on a slightly more thoughtful form, with Mr. Krabs' old sailor stories plunging SpongeBob into a crisis of self-esteem. Watching the dynamic Mr. Krabs, played by Clancy Brown, take on a more emotional dimension than usual adds an unexpected texture. And yet, longtime fans may be disappointed by the limited screen time given to beloved characters like Sandy, Plankton, and Pearl; Pam Brady and Matt Lieberman have clearly made a calculated compromise, focusing the narrative on the conflict with the Dutchman, even if it means reducing the richness of the ensemble that the series has always used as comic relief.

Nevertheless, when the film goes for humor, it hits more often than it misses. The pace is frenetic, in a way that feels deliberately nostalgic, mimicking the rapid editing and surreal comic timing of the series' golden years. Visual gags pop up from every corner of the screen, nods reward longtime fans, and the interactions between the characters retain the same warm chemistry that has kept this franchise alive for a generation. From SpongeBob's increasingly ridiculous attempts to “prove his courage” to Patrick's relentlessly encouraging stupidity to the Dutchman's increasingly manipulative tactics, the film rarely lets a scene go by without a punchline. Even the appearances of George Lopez, Isis ce Spice Gaston, Sherry Cola, and Regina Hall, though fleeting, add a touch of playful absurdity.

Yet it is in its familiarity that the film stumbles. The narrative rhythm echoes SpongeBob's past adventures with sometimes disturbing clarity: the narrative arcs based on SpongeBob's fear, Mr. Krabs' bravado, Patrick's well-intentioned interruptions, and the Dutchman's plots have all been explored in previous episodes or films, sometimes with greater comic or emotional precision. The script feels like it's struggling with the weight of its own legacy, torn between offering fans a comfortable and recognizable adventure and seeking out something truly new. Yet even when the plot becomes predictable, the sincerity with which it's presented keeps it alive. The film never pretends to be the radical reinvention that the marketing suggests: it simply wants to entertain, comfort, and make the audience laugh, and in this mission, it rarely fails.

The animation, meanwhile, is flawless. The clay textures refined since The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015) give the characters a lively, tangible quality without losing their cartoonish strangeness. The bright color palettes pop off the screen, and the action sequences—whether underwater chases, pirate duels, or surreal descents into the Dutchman's domain—have a kinetic refinement that shows how far the franchise has evolved visually. At times, you can almost feel Stephen Hillenburg's legacy hovering in the corners, the creative spirit he championed continuing to breathe strange and delightful life into the ecosystem of Bikini Bottom.

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants doesn't pretend to be the franchise's most daring step, but it doesn't need to be. What it does offer instead is a confident, funny, and surprisingly sincere adventure, anchored by a fantastic turn from Mark Hamill as the villain, a renewed interest in SpongeBob's inner anxieties, and a reaffirmation of why this character continues to resonate. It's a comforting, salty, zany, and luminous film that won't win over those already immune to SpongeBob's charm, but will delight generations who grew up soaking in his peculiar joy.

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), December 24, 2025 (France)
Running time: 96 minutes

Seen on December 22, 2025, at UGC Ciné Cité La Défense

Mulder's Mark: