SpongeBob Movie, The: Search for SquarePants

image for SpongeBob Movie, The: Search for SquarePants

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Not suitable under 5; parental guidance to 8 (violence, scary scenes, crude humour)

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This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for SpongeBob Movie, The: Search for SquarePants
  • a review of SpongeBob Movie, The: Search for SquarePants completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 31 December 2025.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 5 Not suitable due to violence, scary scenes and crude humour.
Children aged 5–8 Parental guidance recommended due to violence, scary scenes and crude humour.
Children aged 9 and over Ok for this age group.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

Name of movie: SpongeBob Movie, The: Search for SquarePants
Classification: PG
Consumer advice lines: Mild supernatural themes and animated violence
Length: 96 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

SpongeBob (voice of Tom Kenny) is 36 clams tall, finally a ‘big guy’ and officially tall enough to ride the rollercoaster at Captain Booty Beard’s Fun Park. But when he arrives, his excitement quickly turns into fear as he realises how scary the ride truly is. Mr Krabs (voice of Clancy Brown) tells him height alone doesn’t make him a ‘big guy’. He tells SpongeBob of his younger days, when he sailed the seas as a brave pirate, earning a swashbuckler’s certificate to prove it. Inspired, SpongeBob becomes convinced that earning his own certificate is the key to becoming a real ‘big guy’. That is when the ghost pirate, The Flying Dutchman (Mark Hamill) appears, promising to help SpongeBob achieve his goal by conquering the dangerous ‘Underworld’. Joined by his best friend Patrick (voice of Bill Fagerbakke), SpongeBob eagerly sets off to fulfil his goal.

What SpongeBob doesn’t know is that The Flying Dutchman is cursed to wander the seas until he can find an innocent soul to take his place. Believing SpongeBob is the perfect person for this role, The Flying Dutchman sets his plan into motion. Mr Krabs, who has sailed with The Flying Dutchman before, teams up with Squidward (Rodger Bumpass) and Gary the Snail, to rescue SpongeBob. Will they be able to save SpongeBob before he is cursed for eternity?

Themesinfo

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Deception; Exploitation; Supernatural creatures; Ghosts.

Use of violenceinfo

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is some violence in this movie, including:

  • Some Flying Dutchman ghost crew members have their heads blown off by cannonballs, though they regenerate swiftly.
  • A Dutchman crew member says they are going to ‘take care’ of Patrick after he interferes with their plans.
  • Mr Krab’s boat is attacked by Underworld creatures.
  • The Flying Dutchman and his crewmate fight skeletons using their swords. Patrick and SpongeBob are also attacked by these skeletons and run away in fear to hide.
  • SpongeBob and The Flying Dutchman battle through a series of challenges, fighting new monsters at each stage.
  • Mr Krabs, Squidward and Gary are attacked and eaten by a three headed seagull.
  • A man pushes over a little girl who is roller-skating.
  • Mr Krabs and SpongeBob fight with The Flying Dutchman on a rollercoaster to break a curse.

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under fiveinfo

Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

  • Lightning strikes on multiple occasions throughout the film, which may frighten younger children.
  • The ghostly and threatening appearance of the Dutchman crew may scare young audiences.
  • The Flying Dutchman transforms back into his human form.

Aged five to eightinfo

Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

  • The rollercoaster at the theme park is very dangerous, with cannons, lighting, fire, and gaps in the course causing passengers to fly off the ride.
  • In a flashback, Mr Krabs recounts his experience in the Underworld. He is shown slashing monsters in half with his cutlass.
  • The monsters of the Underworld and some accompanying scary scenes may frighten viewers.
  • Audiences may be disturbed by the frequent and crude toilet humour throughout the film.

Aged eight to thirteeninfo

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

  • Nothing further noted.

Product placement

  • None noted.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

  • There is a theme park named Captain Booty Beard’s Fun Park.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

  • The film frequently focuses in on Patrick and SpongeBob’s bottoms.
  • SpongeBob thrusts the air while lifting weights.
  • Patrick places an eyepatch over his private region.
  • Gary is towel-whipped on his bottom in a high school locker room.
  • Two Underground monsters begin making out.
  • Sirens tempt Squidward to come to them to play music together.
  • There are people shirtless and in swimmers at the beach.

Use of substances

  • None noted.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

  • The film repeatedly uses a physical brick to play on the phrase “shitting bricks” when characters are scared. In one scene, SpongeBob says to Patrick that he dropped his lucky brick after hearing a thud during a scary moment. Patrick responds that he doesn’t have a lucky brick.
  • Big dummy
  • Idiots
  • Heck.

In a nutshell

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants is an animated action-comedy movie and the latest film adaptation of the iconic television series. Due to the violence, scary scenes and crude humour, the film is unsuitable for children under 5, and parental guidance is recommended to 8. (Please note – When reviewed in the cinema, this movie opened with an additional animated short film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Chrome Alone 2 – Lost in New Jersey.)

The main messages from this movie are that being a ‘big guy’ isn’t about being big and tough – What matters is being authentic and true to yourself.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

  • Courage
  • Teamwork
  • Authenticity.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

  • Trusting people that you do not know and the risks that can come from it.