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Would the early viewers who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series enduring for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? Such longevity is partly due to its broad appeal, amusing the funny bones of adults – possibly even those former students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything as surprising as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a comfortably goofy groove. Its script acts as a PG-rated exploration on the pros and cons of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a detail that thrills him as it at last qualifies him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy gag: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a charming mix of digimation and hand-turned components, forever highlighting satisfying, authentically cartoonish visuals.

Whether its spitballing silliness will linger when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Memorable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out somehow squarer than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the series – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a robust Davy Jones gag and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original students will probably be chuckling anew.

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