At the beginning of The SpongeBob Movie: The Search for SquarePants, the fourth theatrical feature stemming from the long-running animated television series, our intrepid, yellow, gap-toothed protagonist—the aptly named SpongeBob SquarePants—finally reaches "36 clams" in height, which means that he is now, officially, a "Big Guy." If that makes any sense to you, then you are probably a SpongeBob fan and longtime viewer who is ready for more. And if it doesn't, then you probably have no business watching this particular cinematic endeavor. It is not for the faint of heart, nor for those who aren't familiar with the denizens of the benthic underwater city of Bikini Bottom, nor for those who don't like lots of butt jokes. Because there are a lot. Of butt jokes.

This time around, SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) and his lovably dim-witted best friend Patrick Star (Bill Fagerbakke) get conned by the ghost of the Flying Dutchman (Mark Hamill) into joining him on a mission that takes them through the various and sundry depths of the Underworld. SpongeBob's desire to be taken seriously as a "Big Guy," which he believes requires him to demonstrate bravery, makes him an easy target for the manipulative green pirate ghost, who tricks him into accomplishing a series of tasks that, far from proving his mettle, allows the Flying Dutchman to escape his centuries-long curse. SpongeBob's delusions about swashbuckling adventure are primed by his discovery that Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown), his curmudgeonly employer at the Krusty Krab, was once a swaggering, amusingly barrel-chested sea farer who tangled with the Flying Dutchman among other ventures. When Mr. Krabs learns that SpongeBob has been ferried to the Underworld, he cajoles the always grouchy Squidward (Rodger Bumpass) to help retrieve him.

And, again, if any of that made any sense, you are in the right place. The Search for SquarePants hits all the notes one would expect from another SpongeBob movie, although one might complain that this one is a little too rowdy, too boisterous, too packed-to-the-gills with visual and aural overload. The lure of the big screen always brings out more than the television series could muster, but this time it feels like director Derek Drymon, a veteran SpongeBob writer and producer, working from a script by Pam Brady (Hot Rod, Smurfs) and Matt Lieberman (The Christmas Chronicles, Free Guy), took things a bit too far in making it bigger and louder.

The monsters and mayhem of the Underworld are very much in keeping with the goofy SpongeBob aesthetic (even with the complete reliance on three-dimension computer animation, which was also used on the previous movie, 2020's Sponge on the Run). The visual anarchy does give way to some great gags, though, including a roller coaster at the end whose upward climb is slowly and subtly revealed to be astronomically absurd. It is also impossible not to appreciate the extent to which Mark Hamill throws himself into playing the Flying Dutchman when he becomes human, complete with a grotesque nose extension and tall socks. There are some worthy messages, as well, especially about the importance of kindness and good humor, which are SpongeBob's endearing and enduring trademarks. One might wish that there had been anything that matches the anthemic "Goofy Goober Rock" sequence from The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004), but maybe it is best not to set one's expectations quite that high. SpongeBob's chops are still righteous, but not that righteous.

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