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Could those original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the series persisting for a quarter-century, following absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging appeal, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything as surprising as the legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this fourth feature has no qualms about having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon finds a comfortably silly rhythm. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a fact that excites him as it finally allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best modern American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a charming mix of digimation and hand-turned components, forever highlighting pleasing, authentically animated effects.

Whether its freewheeling humor will linger after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Memorable moments include SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and coming out inexplicably more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to delight the younger crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid entry to the series – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, encompassing a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original students will likely be snickering all over again.

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