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Could those original fans who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series enduring for a quarter-century, even after absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such staying power is in part due to its broad charm, amusing the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Groove

Starting with a holiday short featuring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly finds a comfortably silly groove. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a detail that excites him as it at last allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, as in the best modern American cartoons, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's mission to secure the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-crafted components, forever highlighting pleasing, properly cartoonish effects.

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

Notable moments include SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and emerging inexplicably squarer than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to delight the younger audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid entry to the franchise – and arguably the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those early students will likely be chuckling anew.

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.