Nerdly » ‘The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants’ Blu-ray Review

31st Mar2026

‘The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants’ Blu-ray Review

by Henry Godfrey-Evans

Features the voices of: Tom Kenny, Rodger Bumpass, Bill Fagerbakke, Mark Hamill, Clancy Brown, Carolyn Lawrence, George Lopez, Regina Hall, Tom Wilson | Written by Pam Brady, Matt Lieberman | Directed by Derek Drymon

SpongeBob wakes up finally tall enough to go on the big, scary rollercoaster in Bikini Bottom, only to find he is too petrified to go on it. Mr Krabs indicates that he became brave through being a swashbuckling pirate, like he was himself once. This advice lures SpongeBob and Patrick into a treacherous trial with The Flying Dutchman.

Obviously, we review kids’ films with a pinch of salt, but I’m writing this for all the parents who are just praying it’s going to be a bearable experience – and ‘bearable’ sounds about right to be honest.

SpongeBob SquarePants built a reputation for a reason; not every kids’ animated show is still getting encores 26 years later. It’s Jim Carrey if he were a cartoon. Decent jokes with 100% commitment and clever, detailed animation. All of that quality was present in The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, and there were quite a few amusing moments. When you have a slow moment and think back on some of the gags, you sometimes realise how thought-out they actually are, especially in the animation process. Overall, a real example of how to sketch and animate physical comedy.

It also has some of the most voice acting ever in Tom Kenny, Rodger Bumpass and Bill Fagerbakke; all of whom sounded as fresh as they ever did. When you add voice acting titan Mark Hamill to that mix, you’ve got a seriously impressive line-up.

A while back, I gave Zootropolis 2 its flowers for giving adults a story to chew on and with lessons that could perhaps even filter through to some of the children. Good slapstick comedy is an excellent distraction, but your brain NEEDS to switch gears between fast-moving action and a big picture to track in the background.

I fear The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants had none of that. It was an extremely basic plot that went in a straight line for 90 minutes. Don’t forget I have memories of growing up with SpongeBob, and I know it was a show capable of juvenile yet fun and ironic storylines. When I thought about the plot and worked backwards, it felt like it might have just been the easy way to bring the Flying Dutchman – and Mark Hamill – into the cast.

Also, it really isn’t as silly as asking for a sophisticated plot, just a few conversations that I could pay attention to, moments that moved the plot forward a little bit. I know it sounds ridiculous when I use this sort of film lingo, but I promise everyone notices the difference between this and the average Disney Pixar film.

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants makes the leap to Blu-ray here with a crisp 1080p transfer, framed in a theatrical 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Audio options are plentiful too, headlined by an English Dolby Atmos track that gives Bikini Bottom a surprising amount of depth, alongside French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes and an audio descriptive track. Subtitle options include English, English SDH, French and Spanish, so you’re well covered whichever way you watch.

As for the presentation itself, this is a solid all-rounder. The image is clean and vibrant, with no obvious digital nasties creeping in, and the audio holds up just as well, with no glitches or dropouts to speak of. It might not reinvent the wheel, but it absolutely delivers where it counts. Plus the Blu-ray also contains the following extras:

Special Features:

The SpongeBob Ensemble: Veteran Voices
The SpongeBob Ensemble: The New Crew
The Flying Dutchman: Animated Artistry and Live Acting
From Bikini Bottom to the Underworld
“Big Guy” by Ice Spice (Music Video)

This 3D animation style, which they brought in since the 2010s, is also a bit pointless, I think. They have obviously decided that a change in appearance might help people justify shelling out and going to the theatre. If I’m being really cynical, it has probably worked.