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Would the early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the series persisting for a 25 years, following absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? This staying power is partly due to its broad appeal, tickling the funny bones of adults – possibly even those former students – alongside the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything as unexpected as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Groove

Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's other weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a recognizably goofy groove. Its script serves as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a fact that excites him as it finally allows him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the finest contemporary American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.

The Quest for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's visual style remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-turned elements, consistently highlighting pleasing, properly animated effects.

If its freewheeling silliness will resonate after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Memorable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment sure to delight the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the series – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original students will likely be snickering anew.

Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on December 19th in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.