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Would the early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series persisting for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is in part due to its wide-ranging appeal, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the very young viewers. While it may not feature anything quite as surprising as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this fourth feature has no qualms about making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Kicking off with a holiday short starring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie soon finds a recognizably goofy groove. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a detail that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, trippy gag: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the real rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.

The Adventure for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship adds a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-turned components, consistently highlighting pleasing, properly cartoonish effects.

If its spitballing humor will resonate when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the franchise – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original fans will probably be chuckling anew.

Release Dates: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on December 19th in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.