SpongeBob SquarePants no longer dominates pop culture quite as much as it did during his first theatrical outing, when “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie” grossed almost five times its budget at the global box office in 2004. Nevertheless, the fan base continues to grow: children and young people who grew up with the animated series often remain loyal to the Nickelodeon superstar well into adulthood – and since SpongeBob continues to serve as an absolute meme machine for TikTok & Co. almost three decades after his first TV appearance, the constant flow of new blood also seems assured. A regular trip to the screen is actually a must: Because “A Sponge-tastic Rescue” ended up in streaming in 2020 due to Corona, the last movie “SpongeBob SquarePants 3D” was ten years ago.
So it's high time for a large-scale return to Bikini Bottom – and perhaps it's because those responsible are aware of the fans' pent-up hunger and that with “SpongeBob SquarePants: Pirates Ahoy!” primarily rely on the tried and tested: Where “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie” already signaled with the iconic guest appearance of “Baywatch” cult star David Hasselhoff that things would be even more absurd on the screen than in the series format, “Pirates Ahoy!” – despite a wonderful retro live action film element – it feels more like an oversized TV episode. However, at least it's an all-round convincing one, which is why hardly anyone will leave the bright yellow hero's third cinematic adventure disappointed.
The Flying Dutchman sees SpongeBob SquarePants primarily as a useful idiot.
It's a big day for SpongeBob SquarePants (voice in German: Santiago Ziesmer, original: Tom Kenny): Because he's grown a bit again, he's now officially considered a “big boy” with a height of 36 shells – and that means he can finally ride the roller coaster in the amusement park! But when he immediately rushes off with his best friend Patrick (Fritz Rott, Bill Fagerbakke), he suddenly gets very scared in the last few meters in front of the towering ride. But wouldn't you have to be very brave as a “big boy”?
As brave as, for example, SpongeBob's boss Mr. Krabs (Axel Lutter, Clancy Brown), because he has a real warhorse certificate that he once acquired on the pirate ship of the cursed ghost buccaneer Flying Dutchman (Hans-Georg Panczak, Mark Hamill). But in an attempt to get their hands on such a certificate themselves, SpongeBob and Patrick open a magical portal to the underworld. There, the Flying Dutchman immediately sees the newcomers as willing fools who could help him finally break the curse that has been on him for 500 years and thus enable him to return to the upper world…
When that one word simply doesn't exist in German
In any case, dubbing authors don't have an easy time translating puns appropriately into German. But it becomes particularly difficult when we simply don't have a term – and that's especially true when it also has a central meaning for the plot and thus the entire film. In the case of “Pirates Ahoy!” is that “swashbuckling“, which literally means “saber-rattling”, but has long been so synonymous with particularly daring contemporaries that an entire film genre, in which fencing artists, pirates and other daredevil heroes usually go on historical adventures, was named after it.
There probably isn’t a better one-word translation than “warhorse.” But it still helps if you “swashbuckling“Always think about it in the back of your mind, because “Pirates Ahoy!” is of course once again chock full of cinematic quotes and pop culture references – from the Ray Harryhausen-esque skeletons to one of the most legendary action movie sayings of all time: So look forward to the SpongeBob version of “I came here to chew bubble gum and kick ass, and I ran out of bubble gum.” It's still funny even if you – like most SpongeBob fans – have never seen “They Live” and never played “Duke Nukem”.
SpongeBob and Patrick's unconditional friendship also saves in “Pirates Ahoy!” once more the day!
The allusions are even more unusual in the obligatory live-action part, which this time doesn't use David Hasselhoff's lifeguard back as a setting, but instead shows “Star Wars” legend Mark Hamill riding a roller coaster. When the Flying Dutchman sits in a casual holiday outfit in front of obviously back-projected retro shots of beach scenes, it's certainly not a coincidence that it's reminiscent of the beach movie genre, which was incredibly popular in the 1950s (which was almost exclusively about young people partying and dancing on the beach). But it is precisely this love of the obscure and therefore of being an outsider that makes SpongeBob still appear fresh and surprising even after almost three decades.
And that's true even if you've actually long since figured out the basic modus operandi – including sudden ultra-close-up shots of pimples. Specifically in “SpongeBob SquarePants: Pirates Ahoy!” In addition, franchise and message simply fit together perfectly: the question of what courage and bravery really mean is explored in the usual subversive way – it's no coincidence that SpongeBob and Patrick repeatedly drive the Flying Dutchman crazy with their infectiously kind-hearted and potentially annoying childishness. At the same time, the friendship of the two bikini bottom anarchists is celebrated in a way that still warms your heart even after all this time.
Conclusion: Especially in comparison to the previous two films, “SpongeBob SquarePants: Pirates Ahoy!” err on the side of caution. But SquarePants fans still get their money's worth after a ten-year absence from the big screen.