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Would the early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series persisting for a 25 years, following absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? This longevity is in part attributed to its broad charm, tickling the sense of humor of adults – possibly even those former students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as surprising as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Vibe

Kicking off with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a comfortably silly groove. Its storyline acts as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it finally allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, as in the best modern American animation, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Proof

SpongeBob's mission to secure the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the movie's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted elements, forever showcasing pleasing, properly animated effects.

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

Memorable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out somehow more rectangular than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop 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 is a solid addition to the franchise – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those early fans will likely be snickering all over again.

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.