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Could those early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series persisting for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This staying power is in part attributed to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything quite as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon finds a comfortably silly groove. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it at last qualifies him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An early, psychedelic gag: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, as in the best modern American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship adds a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-turned elements, forever highlighting pleasing, properly animated effects.

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

Notable moments include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and coming out somehow squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the series – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie recently, including a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early fans will likely be snickering anew.

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