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Would the early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise persisting for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? This staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the sense of humor of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – alongside the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as surprising as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Vibe

Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon settles into a comfortably goofy groove. Its script serves as a PG-rated exploration on the pros and cons of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a fact that thrills him as it at last allows him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An early, trippy gag: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest modern American cartoons, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted components, forever highlighting pleasing, authentically animated effects.

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

Memorable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the series – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a saltily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early students 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.