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Would the original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series enduring for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such longevity is in part due to its broad charm, amusing the funny bones of adults – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it may not feature anything as surprising as the legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie soon finds a comfortably goofy groove. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a detail that excites him as it finally allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, as in the best modern American animation, the real thrill ride is the twisting plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the legendary pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the film's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted components, consistently highlighting satisfying, properly animated effects.

Whether its spitballing humor will linger after the credits is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Memorable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and coming out somehow more rectangular than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the series – and arguably the most humorous pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original fans will likely be chuckling all over again.

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