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Would the original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series enduring for a quarter-century, even after experiencing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such longevity is partly due to its broad charm, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – alongside the very young viewers. Although it may not feature anything as unexpected as the legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Groove

Starting with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon settles into a recognizably goofy groove. Its script acts as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it at last qualifies him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, as in the best contemporary American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-turned elements, consistently highlighting pleasing, authentically animated visuals.

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

Memorable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably more rectangular than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the younger crowd: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the franchise – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early fans will likely be snickering anew.

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