The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants

"Ship's about to go down."

2025 1h 28m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 357

AdventureFamilyAnimationComedyFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Desperate to be a big guy, SpongeBob sets out to prove his bravery to Mr. Krabs by following The Flying Dutchman – a mysterious swashbuckling ghost pirate – on a seafaring adventure that takes him to the deepest depths of the deep sea, where no Sponge has gone before.

“Ship's about to go down.”

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Cast

Tom Kenny
SpongeBob SquarePants / Gary / Morning DJ (voice)
Mark Hamill
Flying Dutchman
Clancy Brown
Mr. Krabs / Pirate / Narrator
Bill Fagerbakke
Patrick Star (voice)
Rodger Bumpass
Squidward (voice)
Carolyn Lawrence
Sandy (voice)
Mr. Lawrence
Plankton (voice)
George López
JK Fishlips (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Derek Drymon
Writers: Pam Brady, Kaz, Pam Brady
Languages: English, Arabic
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

88 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $64M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released last year.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Arabic.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "SpongeBob Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Derek Drymon, shot by Peter Lyons Collister. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Debney. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Wyatt Jones shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Derek Drymon directs. Peter Lyons Collister behind the camera. John Debney scores. Wyatt Jones cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Arabic.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Mid-budget at $64M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
3Released last year.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Arabic.
5Part of the "SpongeBob Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Derek Drymon, shot by Peter Lyons Collister. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by John Debney. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Wyatt Jones shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Tom Kenny and Mark Hamill and Clancy Brown carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Ship's about to go down.".
11IMDB entry: tt23572848 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 11 themes, including "sequel", "based on cartoon", "pirate", "based on tv series".
13Released under 16 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Peter Lyons Collister
Original score: John Debney
Editing: Wyatt Jones
Production design: Pablo R. Mayer
VFX supervisor: Marshall Richard Krasser
Sound: Will Files
Runtime: 88 min · 1h 28m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $64,000,000
Box office: $163,197,450
Return: 255% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025)

Part of

SpongeBob Collection

A yellow sea sponge named SpongeBob SquarePants, who enjoys being a cook at Krusty Krab, lives in the Pacific Ocean. He embarks on various adventures with his friends at Bikini Bottom.

Also by

Derek Drymon

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-12-25
★ 6/10
Only just tall enough to go on the big boy’s ride, “SpongeBob” and his best pal “Patrick” are lured onto the pirate ship of the dreaded “Flying Dutchman” and promised an exciting adventure before he is rewarded with his swashbuckling certificate. Meantime, “Mr. Krabs” races in hot pursuit because he knows that his enthusiastic, but gullible, young protégé is being lead on a perilous journey that could end up releasing untold terror on the high seas. There are loads of semi-slapstick escapades here and by putting it all underwater, they gets to battle all sorts of menacing sea creatures too as he must accomplish a series of challenges before he can blow the magical horn that will signify his achievement - or, will it? There is humour for all ages here, but I’d have to admit that most of it is really only aimed at the younger audience. What there is for the older folks is limited, predictable and fairly unimaginative. All of that said, it races along and I heard loads of laughs from the children watching in a packed cinema and that’s never a bad thing, so perhaps not for those of us on the wrong side of fifty - but with it’s messages of loyalty and devotion mixed in with borderline farce, it’s an effortless ninety minutes of festive fun that for once doesn’t scream marketing exercise at us.

Production companies