The Sponge Bob Movie: Search for Square Pants (2025) Review - Fun Underwater Adventure for Families
Quick answer: Yes, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants is out now. It opened in the US on December 19, 2025, and reached New Zealand cinemas on December 26, 2025. It holds an 80% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 68% audience score, and there's no Kiwi streaming subscription that carries it yet. You can rent or buy it digitally through Apple TV, Prime Video, YouTube, Neon Rentals, or AroVision.
At a glance
- Release date: December 19, 2025 (US)
- Runtime: 88 minutes
- Rating: PG
- Director: Derek Drymon
- Streaming: Paramount+ (US/Canada)
- Our rating: 7/10 🟡
- Best for: Families and SpongeBob fans
7/10
Quick verdict: Worth a watch
Best SpongeBob movie since Sponge Out of Water. Gorgeous animation, strong voice performances, and plenty of fun for families, though the story feels familiar.
Cast, crew, and quick facts
Derek Drymon directs, making his feature debut after years writing and producing for the show. Pam Brady and Matt Lieberman wrote the screenplay, working from a story by Brady, Marc Ceccarelli, and Kaz. It's the fourth mainline theatrical SpongeBob film, following Sponge on the Run in 2020.
| Director | Derek Drymon |
| Writers | Pam Brady, Matt Lieberman (screenplay); Marc Ceccarelli, Kaz, Pam Brady (story) |
| Composer | John Debney |
| Studio | Paramount Animation, Nickelodeon Movies |
| Runtime | 88 minutes |
| Rating | PG (rude humor, thematic elements, mild language) |
| US release | December 19, 2025 |
| New Zealand release | December 26, 2025 (cinemas) |
| Box office | $169 million worldwide on a $64 million budget |
Voice cast: Tom Kenny returns as SpongeBob and Gary, Clancy Brown as Mr. Krabs, Rodger Bumpass as Squidward, Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick Star, Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy Cheeks, and Mr. Lawrence as Plankton. Mark Hamill takes over as the Flying Dutchman, replacing Brian Doyle-Murray. Regina Hall, George Lopez, Ice Spice, Arturo Castro, and Sherry Cola join as new characters.
Official trailer, Paramount Pictures.
Plot summary
After years of dreaming of a roller coaster, SpongeBob finally gets to ride one. As soon as the ride begins, he freezes. He wants to impress Mr. Krabs that he is a "big guy" so he searches through Mr. Krabs's pirate relics in his basement, only to accidentally release the ghost pirate, the Flying Dutchman, which is cursed to wander the Underworld until it swaps places with an innocent soul.
Instead, the
Dutchman gives SpongeBob a deal: finish a series of underwater quests and
receive his Swashbuckler Certificate! Under the guidance of SpongeBob, Patrick
and the duo venture into new waters than the show has ever been in before and
are pursued by a three-headed bird, a skeleton crew, and a slew of new
characters from the underworld voiced by Regina Hall and George Lopez.
What works and what falls short
What works
- The animation blends 2D and 3D styles in a way critics compared to Spider-Verse and The Mitchells vs. the Machines. It's the best-looking SpongeBob film yet.
- Mark Hamill's Flying Dutchman gives the film a genuine anchor. His scenes carry most of the movie's energy.
- The tone returns to the goofier, first-season spirit of the show after the divisive Sponge on the Run.
- Ice Spice's original song "Big Guy" and the rest of the soundtrack, from John Debney, add momentum without feeling like filler.
What falls short
- The story leans on ideas the franchise has already used. The Flying Dutchman drove the plot of the 2004 original too, and the general "Odyssey" structure isn't new to the series.
- A live-action finale sequence feels bolted onto the animated sections, according to several IMDb user reviews. It's the one part of the film that consistently draws complaints.
- Adult viewers with no nostalgia for the show may find some jokes drag. A handful of critics called specific bits tedious.
- It's fun in the moment but light on rewatch value. Multiple reviewers describe it as "a long, decent episode" rather than a standout film event.
Scorecard
| Story and plot | 🟡 6/10 |
| Animation and visuals | 🟢 9/10 |
| Humor | 🟡 7/10 |
| Voice acting | 🟢 8/10 |
| Family appeal | 🟢 8/10 |
| Rewatch value | 🟡 6/10 |
Critic aggregates back this up. Rotten Tomatoes has it at 80% from critics on 70 reviews and 68% from over 1,000 audience ratings. Metacritic puts it at 73. IMDb users have it closer to 5.8 out of 10, pulled down by a vocal split between fans who loved the Dutchman material and viewers who found the jokes thin.
Why are audience scores lower than critics?
The 12-point gap between the 80% critic score and 68% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes isn't unusual for this franchise, but it's worth breaking down.
Critics praised
- The animation, especially the 2D and 3D blend
- Mark Hamill's performance as the Flying Dutchman
- The return to classic, first-season SpongeBob humor
Viewers criticized
- A story that leans on familiar franchise beats
- The live-action ending
- A lack of jokes that land for adult viewers
Critics judged the film mostly on craft: animation, pacing, voice work. General audiences, including plenty of parents watching alongside their kids, weighed it more on whether it felt fresh. That split explains most of the gap between the Tomatometer and the Popcornmeter, and it lines up with the mixed IMDb user reviews too.
My take
I came in with a lot of hopes and dreams for an Sponge on the Run, which is a movie I didn't want to see again. This one gets its comeback. Most of the work is done here by Mark Hamill's Flying Dutchman. He is rude, jocular and gives Patrick and SpongeBob someone to bounce off of for 88 minutes.
The thing about which it falters is precisely the thing one would expect a fourth book to falter on. The storyline repeats the themes of pirates and the Underworld that were explored in the show and the final live-action stretch is a throwback to a previous draft. Kids won't care. It will be noticed by parents who have grown up with the first two seasons.
Take your kids.
Don't think it will be a replacement for the 2004 original in your memory
library.
How it compares to the other Sponge Bob movies
| Film | Year | Rotten Tomatoes (critics) |
| The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie | 2004 | 68% |
| The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water | 2015 | 78% |
| The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run | 2020 | 57% |
| The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants | 2025 | 80% |
Search for SquarePants scores highest of the four with critics, and it's a clear step up from Sponge on the Run, which went almost straight to streaming during the pandemic and is widely seen as the franchise's weakest entry. It doesn't quite match the cultural staying power of the 2004 original, which still holds a stronger audience score two decades later.
Our ranking of the Sponge Bob movies
| Rank | Film | Our rating |
| 1 | The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004) | 🟢 9/10 |
| 2 | The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015) | 🟢 8/10 |
| 3 | The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025) | 🟡 7/10 |
| 4 | The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2020) | 🟠 5/10 |
Do you need to watch earlier SpongeBob movies first?
No, Search for SquarePants is an independent adventure and you do not need to do any homework before viewing it.
A few
references will be picked up by long-time fans. If you have seen the original
(2004) Flying Dutchman, he also makes a significant impact here and he also
features in the TV series. For new viewers and younger children nothing is
missing. All of the plot, cast, and setting is introduced again within 10
minutes of the beginning.
Similar titles to watch next
- Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (2025) - the Netflix spinoff that came out a few months earlier, focused on Sandy.
- The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021) - a reference point critics kept bringing up for the film's mixed 2D and 3D animation style.
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) - another comparison point for the visual approach, though tonally very different.
Who should watch it?
Watch this if you enjoy
- ✔ Family animated movies
- ✔ Classic SpongeBob humor
- ✔ Adventure comedies
- ✔ Pirate and fantasy stories
- ✔ Movies for kids under 12
Skip it if
- ✖ You never enjoyed SpongeBob
- ✖ You want a deep, complex story
- ✖ You're looking for animation aimed mainly at adults
Is it suitable for kids?
The ghost-pirate elements (the Flying Dutchman, a three-headed bird, and a skeleton crew) are the reason it's recommended for ages 7 and up by Common Sense Media. It is rated low in the sex, violence and language categories, aligned with the PG rating for rude humor, mild language and thematic elements, as the kids-in-Mind ratings.
Most parent
reviews indicate that most children who are already familiar with the programme
cope with it at 5 or 6 years of age. There is no reason to look for anything
out there from the series' line of humor, toilet jokes, slapstick and all.
Where to watch worldwide
| Region | Where to watch |
| US and Canada | Streaming on Paramount+ since February 17, 2026 |
| UK | Digital rental and purchase through Sky Store, Amazon, and Apple TV |
| Australia | Streaming on Paramount+ through the Channel 10 partnership |
| New Zealand | Apple TV, Prime Video, YouTube, Neon Rentals, and AroVision. Full New Zealand guide below |
Where to watch The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants in New Zealand
This is the part most UK and US guides skip, and it matters if you're in New Zealand. Paramount+ has never launched here. Unlike Australia, which has a Paramount+ content deal through Channel 10, New Zealand has no equivalent arrangement, so the movie's February 17, 2026 streaming premiere on Paramount+ in the US and Canada doesn't extend to Kiwi accounts, VPN workarounds aside.
What you can actually do in New Zealand right now:
- Buy or rent digitally through the Apple TV Store, Amazon/Prime Video Store, or YouTube.
- Rent through Neon Rentals or AroVision, both of which list it as a paid rental rather than a subscription title.
- Check your local cinema if you missed the December 26, 2025 release. Some smaller chains still run family titles on and off through school holidays.
There's currently no free or ad-supported way to stream it in New Zealand. If you want a hard copy, only a US Blu-ray and DVD release has been confirmed so far, so check the disc region before ordering one from overseas.
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FAQ
Is the new Sponge-Bob film out?
Yes. It
released in the U.S. on December 19, 2025 and in New Zealand cinemas on
December 26, 2025. It has since been rolled out to other markets through to
2026.
Is the new Sponge Bob movie good?
Mostly, yes.
Currently occupying the 80% and 68% spots on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively by
critics and audience, and a 73% spot on Meta critic, it's a 7.0 rated film on
both platforms. It is the highest-rated Sponge Bob movie by critics since the
franchise started, but IMDb's user rating of 5.8 indicates that it has split
ratings from general viewers.
Where can I watch The Sponge Bob Movie: Search for Square Pants in 2026?
It's streaming
in the USA and Canada from February 17, 2026 on Paramount+. There is no
subscription in New Zealand. It will be available to rent or buy on Apple TV,
Prime Video, YouTube, Neon Rentals, or AroVision.
pongeBob movie in 2026?
There's no
confirmed release date for a mainline theatrical Sponge Bob yet for 2026.
Instead, the franchise has been producing Netflix spin offs based on each of
these characters; Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie is set for
release in August 2025 and Plankton: The Movie is still not announced for a
date.
Final verdict
How we rate
- 🟢 8-10/10 - Must watch
- 🟡 6-7/10 - Worth a watch
- 🟠 4-5/10 - Average, only for fans
- 🔴 0-3/10 - Skip it
Sponge Out of
Water is the best film the franchise has made so far, and Sponge Bob Movie:
Search for Square Pants is doing no better. It's better than anything the series
has ever produced, Mark Hamill's Flying Dutchman is a good time all by himself,
and it resolves many of the issues that plagued Sponge on the Run. It is not
going to convert anyone that has outgrown the show, the plot isn't anything
new, but it does deliver for a family outing to the movies or as a rental at
home.
7/10
Final verdict: Worth a watch
A visually ambitious and fun family adventure that brings Sponge Bob back on track, even if the story doesn't reach the heights of the 2004 original.
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