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Would the early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the franchise enduring for a quarter-century, even after experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? This staying power is in part due to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it may not feature anything as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this latest movie has no qualms about making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Groove

Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a comfortably goofy groove. Its script acts as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best contemporary American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Proof

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary pirate license that will prove 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 introduces a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted components, consistently highlighting pleasing, authentically animated visuals.

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

Notable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and coming out somehow squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the younger crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the franchise – and arguably the funniest 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 certain: those original fans will likely be snickering all over again.

Coming to Theaters: 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.