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Could those original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise enduring for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? This staying power is in part attributed to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything as surprising as the legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this latest movie has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while handing out payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Vibe

Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon settles into a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated 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 initial, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, like the best contemporary American animation, the true thrill ride is the twisting plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a charming mix of digimation and hand-turned elements, consistently highlighting pleasing, properly animated effects.

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

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably squarer than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the series – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those early fans will probably be chuckling all over again.

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