I grew up with Nickelodeon, and my favorite Nick Toons will always be Rocko’s Modern Life and Ren and Stimpy, but I must admit, SpongeBob is the king of Nickelodeon! The longevity of SpongeBob and the way it just keeps getting new fans every generation is a testament to how good this show is.
Where to Watch The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants was released on December 19, 2025. You can expect to be able to stream the film from Paramount+ a few months after its theatrical release.
The Previous SpongeBob Movies
If you want to check the older SpongeBob movies, here’s the list:
- The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004)
- The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015)
- The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2020)
The Movie Review
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants is the fourth theatrically released SpongeBob movie, and it was a ton of fun. While this may be the fourth movie to hit theatres, there have been tons of other SpongeBob straight-to-DVD and streaming movies and specials over the years. I love the weird stop-motion looking Christmas special they did a few years back, it is something we watch every year in my house, even if it does have a very creepy looking Santa Claus!
SpongeBob’s Quest for Bravery: A Fresh Adventure
Anyway, back to this movie. The premise here is that SpongeBob wants to become brave. After an incident where SpongeBob was too scared to go on a ride, he finds out about Mr. Krabs’ brave swashbuckling past, and SpongeBob wants to be brave like him. Of course, this is something that goes completely off the rails in typical SpongeBob fashion.
The Flying Dutchman Returns, Voiced by Mark Hamill
While messing around with the relics of Mr. Krabs’ past. SpongeBob accidentally releases the spirit of a Mark Hamill voiced Flying Dutchman, who needs an innocent soul if he is to escape the underworld. Sensing that SpongeBob is the innocent soul that he needs, he tricks SpongeBob, who brings Patrick along, to join his crew, and if he completes a series of trials, he will become brave.
A Trick, A Trial, and a Deeper Story
This, as you would expect, is a trick! That right there is more than enough for a plot in a SpongeBob movie, but The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants surprisingly has more depth than that. You see, SpongeBob and Patrick have a falling out, and that is actually pretty hard to watch. I would be very interested to see how some younger kids react to that. As a friend, being mean to you is something many kids can relate to.
Mr. Krabs and Squidward’s Heroic Journey
We also have Mr. Krabs feeling bad about filling SpongeBob’s head with stories of him being a brave pirate, so he and Squidward head out to the underworld and beyond to save him and Patrick! Yes, this is full to the brim of the SpongeBob silliness and slapstick humor that you would expect. However, it has a lot of heart and some real emotional depth for a Nickelodeon kids movie. I will for sure check out this movie again at some point in the future. You know, all four of the main SpongeBob movies are at the very least decent!
Surprise Bonus: TMNT Chrome Alone 2 Short Film
Ok, so we have established that The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants is a lot of fun, but the real reason I was so desperate to see this in the theatre was for what was attached to this. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Chrome Alone 2 – Lost in New Jersey is a short that was attached to this, a continuation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem incarnation of the Turtles, which is what is current right now.
Hilarious Holiday Hijinks with the TMNT
This was awesome, and I will never get the chance to fully review it, and it is part of this, so we are doing it here. The Turtles find out that a company in New Jersey is making knock-off merchandise of them, so they want to go there and put a stop to it. This short lasts for under ten minutes, but it was freaking hilarious, and the knock-off merch that the short is themed around is just so much fun.
Chrome Dome Makes a Comeback
I was not disappointed with this short at all. There is some great action, humor, and a great new take on a classic character in Chrome Dome, which I thought was awesome. The fact that this is themed around Christmas means it will become something I watch pretty regularly over the holidays going forward. If you do like the Mutant Mayhem version of the Turtles, you will have a blast with this short. While I like SpongeBob, I can see why, for other bit Turtle fans who are not, it was probably annoying having to go and see a SpongeBob movie just to see the next part of the Mutant Mayhem saga.
