The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants: Difference between revisions

 

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=== Animation ===

=== Animation ===

[[Reel FX Animation]] was the main animation provider for the film. The studio first confirmed to be involved with the film on April 17, 2023, via a [[Twitter]] post on their account, which stated they were looking to hire new modeling and rigging artists in the [[Montreal]] area.<ref>{{Cite tweet |number=1647978360599982084 |user=wearereelfx |title=AHOY! Reel FX Animation’s newest project is the upcoming SpongeBob Squarepants movie! And we’re looking for Montreal-based Modeling and Rigging Artists to join us in Bikini Bottom. |author=[[Reel FX Animation]]}}</ref> Liz Hemme served as the visual effects supervisor for the film.<ref name=”:5″>{{Cite web |last=Lang |first=Jamie |date=December 18, 2025 |title=”You Have To Leave Him How You Found Him”: Derek Drymon And The Reel FX Team On Bringing SpongeBob Back To The Big Screen |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/spongebob-search-for-squarepants-derek-drymon-reel-fx-interview-257647.html |access-date=December 19, 2025 |website=[[Cartoon Brew]]}}</ref>

[[Reel FX Animation]] was the main animation provider for the film. The studio first confirmed to be involved with the film on April 17, 2023, via a [[Twitter]] post on their account, which stated they were looking to hire new modeling and rigging artists in the [[Montreal]] area.<ref>{{Cite tweet |number=1647978360599982084 |user=wearereelfx |title=AHOY! Reel FX Animation’s newest project is the upcoming SpongeBob Squarepants movie! And we’re looking for Montreal-based Modeling and Rigging Artists to join us in Bikini Bottom. |author=Reel FX Animation}}</ref> Liz Hemme served as the visual effects supervisor for the film.<ref name=”:5″>{{Cite web |last=Lang |first=Jamie |date=December 18, 2025 |title=”You Have To Leave Him How You Found Him”: Derek Drymon And The Reel FX Team On Bringing SpongeBob Back To The Big Screen |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/spongebob-search-for-squarepants-derek-drymon-reel-fx-interview-257647.html |access-date=December 19, 2025 |website=[[Cartoon Brew]]}}</ref>

Visually, Drymon wanted to avoid hyper-realism or stylized CGI meant to mimick 2D animation. Inspired by 60s plasticware and toys, he directed Reel FX to create a style that he felt looked more handmade and true to SpongeBob.<ref name=”:5″ /> This philosophy extended to every aspect of the film’s visuals and encouraged the team to dial back realistic textures that they felt could be distracting and too incongruent with SpongeBob’s cartoony world.<ref name=”:5″ />

Visually, Drymon wanted to avoid hyper-realism or stylized CGI meant to mimick 2D animation. Inspired by 60s plasticware and toys, he directed Reel FX to create a style that he felt looked more handmade and true to SpongeBob.<ref name=”:5″ /> This philosophy extended to every aspect of the film’s visuals and encouraged the team to dial back realistic textures that they felt could be distracting and too incongruent with SpongeBob’s cartoony world.<ref name=”:5″ />

2025 film directed by Derek Drymon

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants is a 2025 American animated adventure comedy film based on the SpongeBob SquarePants television series, created by Stephen Hillenburg. Produced by Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Movies, the film is directed by series veteran Derek Drymon and written by Pam Brady and Matt Lieberman, from a story by Brady and series creatives Marc Ceccarelli and Kaz. It stars the show’s regular voice cast alongside George Lopez, Ice Spice, Arturo Castro, Sherry Cola, Regina Hall, and Mark Hamill. The plot follows SpongeBob on a quest to prove his bravery by adventuring with the ghost pirate, The Flying Dutchman, through The Underworld. It is the fourth theatrical film based on the series, following 2020’s Sponge on the Run.

The film was first developed as a direct-to-streaming film, but the project was retooled into a theatrical feature by February 2022. By April 2023, Drymon had been hired to direct the film. In July 2024, Hamill was revealed to be voicing the Flying Dutchman in the film in place of Brian Doyle-Murray. John Debney composed the film’s score, after having previously scored 2015’s Sponge Out of Water.

The film premiered at the AFI Film Festival on October 26, 2025, and was theatrically released on December 19 in the United States, by Paramount Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews from critics.

Plot

SpongeBob fears that he is not as brave as people like Mr. Krabs, so he and Patrick unintentionally summon The Flying Dutchman, the most dreaded pirate of the seven seas. The ghost pirate brings the two with his crew so that he can use SpongeBob, a pure and innocent soul, to undo his curse.

SpongeBob and Patrick go through a number of challenges in The Underworld to prove themselves as swashbucklers, while Mr. Krabs is joined by Squidward and Gary to save the duo. When he does find SpongeBob, The Dutchman makes Krabs admit that he was not a brave sea captain as he told SpongeBob, but rather a bubble-blowing fry cook like him who stole The Dutchman’s horn, which is how SpongeBob got it. He blows into the horn, causing him to switch places with The Dutchman, so he becomes human again while SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs become ghost pirates. After he ascends to the surface, The Dutchman’s assistant Barb, who felt betrayed and abandoned by him, tells SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs that they need to destroy the horn to reverse the curse.

SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs face off with The Dutchman at an amusement park, forcing SpongeBob to confront his fears. He blows a bubble that catches the horn and drops it to the ground. The curse is reversed, with SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs returning to normal while The Dutchman is a ghost again and demoted to kitchen duty, while Barb becomes Captain.

The heroes return to Bikini Bottom, with SpongeBob feeling braver than before. They then realize they all left Squidward in the Underworld.

Voice cast

Production

Development

The film initially began development as a direct-to-streaming film focused on Mr. Krabs, coinciding with the franchise’s character-focused Netflix films Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (2024) and Plankton: The Movie (2025). The project was reworked into a theatrical feature with SpongeBob as the lead after Paramount executives saw the first draft of the streaming version.^[11] In February 2022, the fourth theatrical SpongeBob SquarePants film was officially confirmed to be in development.^[12] In April 2023, during Paramount Pictures‘ CinemaCon panel, it was announced that the film would be titled The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, with series veteran Derek Drymon set to direct the film.^[13] The screenplay was written by Pam Brady and Matt Lieberman, with a story by Marc Ceccarelli, Kaz, and Brady.^[14] Brady, Lisa Stewart, and Aaron Dem serve as producers.^[15][14] Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Movies produce, in association with Domain Entertainment and MRC.^[5][14]

In April 2024, it was reported that the show’s regular voice cast of Tom Kenny, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass, Bill Fagerbakke, Carolyn Lawrence, and Mr. Lawrence would reprise their roles.^[4] At San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024, it was announced that Mark Hamill was voicing the Flying Dutchman, in place of his long-time voice actor Brian Doyle-Murray from the series.^[8][16] In June 2025 at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, it was announced that Regina Hall, Sherry Cola, Arturo Castro, George Lopez, and Ice Spice were cast in the film.^[5]

Animation

Reel FX Animation was the main animation provider for the film. The studio first confirmed to be involved with the film on April 17, 2023, via a Twitter post on their account, which stated they were looking to hire new modeling and rigging artists in the Montreal area.^[17] Liz Hemme served as the visual effects supervisor for the film.^[18]

Visually, Drymon wanted to avoid hyper-realism or stylized CGI meant to mimick 2D animation. Inspired by 60s plasticware and toys, he directed Reel FX to create a style that he felt looked more handmade and true to SpongeBob.^[18] This philosophy extended to every aspect of the film’s visuals and encouraged the team to dial back realistic textures that they felt could be distracting and too incongruent with SpongeBob’s cartoony world.^[18]

Drawing from the series’ past, mixed media became intrinsic to the visual language. Drymon embraced imperfections and said: “visual inconsistency isn’t a flaw to be corrected; it’s a tool for comedy, particularly in a world that thrives on surprise and absurdity”.^[18] The visual palette of the film was drawn from SpongeBob and various live-action inspirations such as Sam Raimi and Coen brothers films, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Three O’Clock High (1987).^[11] Head of story Mark O’Hare said, “We’re making fun of these movies but also honoring them,” and added: “The contrast between SpongeBob’s world and those dynamic 3D cinematic styles is a big part of the fun”.^[11] To emulate the feeling of Bikini Bottom stretching endlessly like it often does in the series, the team “had to dress environments to camera almost all the time” as opposed to building a set than shooting in it like in most other CG productions.^[18]

Music

In April 2025, it was reported that John Debney would compose the film’s score, after having previously composed the score for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015).^[19] In June 2025, alongside her casting, it was revealed that Ice Spice would contribute an original song to the soundtrack.^[5] The single, titled “Big Guy“, was then released on November 13, 2025.^[20]

The album for the film, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (Music from the Motion Picture), was released on December 19, 2025, on MOD-providers by Milan Records and Paramount Music.

Track listing

Release

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants had its world premiere on October 26, 2025, as one of the closing films of the AFI Film Festival^[21] and was theatrically released by Paramount Pictures in the United States on December 19, 2025.^[22] The film is accompanied by an animated short film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Chrome Alone 2 – Lost in New Jersey.^[23] The film’s release was previously scheduled for May 23, 2025,^[24] but was pushed back to December 19, 2025, with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning taking the May 2025 slot due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.^[22]

Reception

Box office

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants opened on December 19, 2025, alongside Avatar: Fire and Ash. The film made $1.4 million in Thursday night previews, and is currently projected to gross $15–20 million on its first day.^[25] It was produced on a budget of $64 million.^[2]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 84% of 31 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10.^[26] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on nine critics, indicating “generally favorable” reviews.^[27]

Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review and wrote, “Even with this impressive legacy to uphold, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants easily delivers another rib-tickling, delightfully frantic fourth installment of the series.”^[28] Chris Wasser of the Sunday Independent gave the film three stars out of five and wrote, “If there is such a thing as a bad SpongeBob film, I haven’t seen it. Always a laugh, even on an off-day, the barmy, square-bottomed sea sponged continues to charm, and this vibrant cartoon adventure – directed by Derek Drymon – is as wacky as you’d expect.”^[29] In a four star out of five review on The Irish Times, Tara Brady wrote, “The visual gags are fresh, the jokes are funny, the world-building is disarmily buoyant, and the musical cues, from Holiday in Cambodia to Carmina Burana, are playful.”^[30] Derek Smith of Slant Magazine gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four, writing, “Beyond the delightfully madcap, swashbuckling adventure taking full advantage of the animators’ creative dexterity, the film is dotted with the whacky humor and ingenious puns that fans of the series have some to expect.”^[31] Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film four stars out of a possible four, writing, “There is no such thing as too many butt jokes. The makers of SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: Search for SquarePants understand this, which is why the movie averages one butt joke every five minutes.”^[32]

In a negative review, Brandon Yu of The New York Times wrote, “No, this is a movie that is bad on its own terms, mainly for its cynical philosophy of children’s entertainment.”^[33] Alistair Harkness of The Scotsman gave the film a rating of two stars out of five, writing, “While there’s nothing wrong with providing pure cinematic silliness for five, six and seven-year-olds, there’s no joy or craft in the jokes on offer; it’s just a barrage of zaniness.”^[34] Fred Topel of United Press International gave the film a negative review, writing that the film was a “step down for SpongeBob.”^[35]

References

External links