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Would the early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series enduring for a quarter-century, following absorbing the most lysergic of narrative twists? Such staying power is partly due to its broad appeal, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – possibly even those former students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Vibe

Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's other long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon settles into a recognizably goofy rhythm. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that thrills him as it at last allows him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the finest contemporary American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship adds a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-turned components, consistently highlighting pleasing, authentically cartoonish visuals.

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

Notable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and coming out inexplicably squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original fans will probably be snickering anew.

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