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Could those original fans who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series enduring for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging appeal, tickling the sense of humor of adults – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as the legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature has no qualms about making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly finds a comfortably silly rhythm. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a detail that excites him as it finally qualifies him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best contemporary American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.

The Adventure for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings 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 movie's visual style remains a charming mix of digimation and hand-turned components, forever showcasing pleasing, authentically animated effects.

If its freewheeling silliness will linger when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably squarer than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the six-year-old crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the series – and arguably the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original fans will probably be snickering anew.

Coming to Theaters: 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.