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Could those early viewers who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the series persisting for a 25 years, following absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such longevity is in part attributed to its broad charm, amusing the sense of humor of adults – possibly even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Kicking off with a festive short starring Paramount's other long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon settles into a recognizably silly rhythm. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a fact that excites him as it at last qualifies him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the finest contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.

The Adventure for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-turned elements, forever highlighting satisfying, properly cartoonish effects.

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

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

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid addition to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: 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.