SpongeBob SquarePants is a 2025 American animated adventure comedy film based on the SpongeBob SquarePants television series, created by Stephen Hillenburg. The film is directed by series veteran Derek Drymon and stars the show’s regular voice cast alongside Regina Hall and Mark Hamill. The plot follows SpongeBob on a quest to prove his bravery by adventuring with the ghost pirate, The Flying Dutchman, through The Underworld. It is the fourth theatrical film based on the series, following 2020’s Sponge on the Run.
The film was written by Pam Brady and Matt Lieberman, from a story by Brady and series creatives Marc Ceccarelli and Kaz. It was first developed as a direct-to-streaming film, but the project was retooled into a theatrical feature by February 2022. By April 2023, Drymon had been hired to direct the film. In July 2024, Hamill was revealed to be voicing the Flying Dutchman in the film in place of Brian Doyle-Murray. John Debney composed the film’s score, after having previously scored 2015’s Sponge Out of Water.

SpongeBob fears that he is not as brave as people like Mr. Krabs, so he and Patrick unintentionally summon The Flying Dutchman, the most dreaded pirate of the seven seas. The ghost pirate brings the two with his crew so that he can use SpongeBob, a pure and innocent soul, to undo his curse.
SpongeBob and Patrick go through a number of challenges in The Underworld to prove themselves as swashbucklers, while Mr. Krabs is joined by Squidward and Gary to save the duo. When he does find SpongeBob, The Dutchman makes Krabs admit that he was not a brave sea captain as he told SpongeBob, but rather a bubble-blowing fry cook like him who stole The Dutchman’s horn, which is how SpongeBob got it. He blows into the horn, causing him to switch places with The Dutchman, so he becomes human again while SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs become ghost pirates.

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants premiered at the AFI Film Festival on October 26, 2025, and was theatrically released by Paramount Pictures in the United States on December 19, 2025. The film received generally positive reviews from critics.