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Would the early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series persisting for a 25 years, following experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? This staying power is in part due to its broad appeal, amusing the funny bones of adults – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it may not feature anything quite as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about having Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Starting with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie soon settles into a comfortably silly rhythm. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated exploration on the pros and cons of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that excites him as it finally qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, like the best modern American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Proof

SpongeBob's mission to secure the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted elements, forever highlighting satisfying, properly animated visuals.

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

Notable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably more rectangular than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the series – and perhaps the funniest pirate-themed 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.” One thing is certain: those original students will probably be snickering all over again.

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.