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Could those early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the series enduring for a quarter-century, following experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? This longevity is in part due to its broad charm, tickling the sense of humor of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – alongside the very young viewers. Although it may not feature anything quite as surprising as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this latest movie thinks nothing of having a veteran voice actor 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 Vibe

Starting with a holiday short featuring Paramount's alternative weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon settles into a comfortably silly rhythm. Its storyline acts as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it at last qualifies him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest modern American cartoons, the real thrill ride is the twisting plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-crafted components, forever highlighting satisfying, authentically animated effects.

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

Notable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow more rectangular than ever; a cameo 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 never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the series – and arguably the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original fans will probably be snickering anew.

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.