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Would the original fans who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series enduring for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? This staying power is in part attributed to its wide-ranging appeal, amusing the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those former students – alongside the very young viewers. While it may not feature anything as surprising as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature has no qualms about making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's alternative weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly finds a comfortably silly rhythm. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the finest contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-turned components, forever highlighting pleasing, properly cartoonish effects.

Whether its spitballing humor will resonate after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing 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 resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the series – and perhaps the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original fans will likely be snickering all over again.

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