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Would the early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series persisting for a quarter-century, even after experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This staying power is in part due to its wide-ranging appeal, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. While it may not feature anything quite as surprising as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this latest movie has no qualms about having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Starting with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly finds a comfortably silly rhythm. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a detail that excites him as it at last allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, as in the best contemporary American cartoons, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-turned components, forever showcasing pleasing, authentically animated visuals.

Whether its freewheeling silliness will resonate after the credits is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out somehow more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment sure to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the series – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original students will likely be chuckling all over again.

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