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Would the original fans who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise persisting for a 25 years, following absorbing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This staying power is partly due to its broad charm, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Vibe

Starting with a holiday short featuring Paramount's alternative weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon finds a comfortably silly rhythm. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly exploration on the advantages and disadvantages 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 dream rollercoaster. (An early, psychedelic gag: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, like the best modern American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Proof

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a grander scope, the movie's aesthetic remains a charming mix of digital animation and hand-crafted components, consistently highlighting pleasing, properly animated visuals.

If its freewheeling silliness will linger after the credits is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Notable moments include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and coming out somehow more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid addition to the series – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a hearty Davy Jones gag and a saltily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original students will probably be snickering anew.

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