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Would the early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series persisting for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such longevity is in part due to its broad appeal, amusing the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those former students – alongside the very young viewers. Although it may not feature anything as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Vibe

Starting with a holiday short featuring Paramount's alternative weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon finds a comfortably silly groove. Its script serves as a PG-rated exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a fact that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the finest contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

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 ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship adds a larger scale, the movie's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted elements, consistently showcasing satisfying, properly cartoonish effects.

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

Notable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and coming out somehow more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to delight the younger crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid entry to the series – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those early students will likely be chuckling all over again.

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