The new SpongeBob SquarePants release, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, hit theaters this weekend, and it’s already broken a 10-year-old record. The latest film brings back Tom Kenny to voice SpongeBob, with Mark Hamill as the notable celebrity name in the new film’s cast. The new story follows SpongeBob trying to prove he is brave by going out on an adventure with The Flying Dutchman through the Underworld. On top of Kenny voicing SpongeBob, Clancy Brown is on board as Mr. Krabs, and Mark Hamill voices The Flying Dutchman. Regina Hall, George Lopez, and Ice Spice also provide voices.
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The new movie, the fourth theatrical release spinning off from the popular Nickelodeon animated series, broke a record with an 85% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score. That beat out the former record holder, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water in 2015, which had an 80% score. The other two movies were mainly dismissed, with The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run getting a 66% score in 2020 and The SpongeBob Movie finishing with a 68% score in 2004. The spinoff The Plankton Movie was also released in 2025 and finished with a 71% score.
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: Search for SquarePants Hits All-Time Critical High
It is always hard for animated movies with characters like SpongeBob SquarePants to impress critics. These films are always too harshly judged for not being overly creative or bringing something new to the table. When they do try something over-the-top, it is often also criticized, making it hard for any of these films to win in terms of their reviews. However, the previous record-holder for RT scores swung for the fences, with a weird vibe, some live-action scenes, and Antonio Banderas playing the villain in a live-action role.
This new movie doesn’t go that far, but having Mark Hamill join on to voice the always popular The Flying Dutchman helped. Hamill remains a beloved voice actor, thanks in large part to his work in the Batman franchise as the Joker. This has also been a big year for Hamill, who appeared in two Stephen King adaptations with The Long Walk and The Life of Chuck, and then finished the year with the new SpongeBob movie.
In the reviews for The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, critics praised the humor and “wacky comedy” that fans of the show had come to expect. It also received praise for the “adolescent tone” that never tries to be “cruel.” The few bad reviews complained that it wasn’t good “children’s entertainment,” which SpongeBob was never meant to be, and that many of the jokes can get “a bit tedious.” However, that is what SpongeBob SquarePants fans want from their entertainment. While the audience Popcornmeter scores have yet to appear, it seems like this should be a nice rebound movie after the disappointing Sponge on the Run.
Why Did Mark Hamill Play The Flying Dutchman?
It might seem strange that Mark Hamill is playing a legacy character like the Flying Dutchman when original actors like Tom Kenny and Clancy Brown are back as their original characters. However, Hamill took on the role, replacing the original voice actor Brian Doyle-Murray, who had voiced the character for the last 25 years. Doyle-Murray is actor Bill Murray’s brother. While it is unclear why Murray departed the franchise, he hasn’t acted in a movie since 2018 and has been missing from television since 2022.
Even better, Mark Hamill was at Comic-Con this year. In a special feature from the event that is on the new The Long Walk Blu-ray, he said that “every child in America will hate my guts” when they see him in The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, making it sound like he will have an even more villainous role than the character did in the series. Whatever the reason for his replacing the original voice actor, it sounds like Hamill was excited for this movie.
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Image courtesy of Universal Pictures.
