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Would the early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series persisting for a 25 years, following absorbing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This staying power is in part attributed to its broad appeal, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything as unexpected as the legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie thinks nothing of making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while handing out payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Vibe

Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's alternative weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly finds a recognizably silly rhythm. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a detail that excites him as it at last allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best contemporary American cartoons, the real rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the legendary pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted elements, consistently showcasing satisfying, properly cartoonish visuals.

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

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably more rectangular than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the franchise – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those early fans will probably be chuckling anew.

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