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Could those original fans who laughed through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series persisting for a quarter-century, following experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is in part due to its broad appeal, amusing the sense of humor of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – alongside the very young viewers. While it may not feature anything as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this latest movie thinks nothing of making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Vibe

Kicking off with a holiday short starring Paramount's other long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly settles into a comfortably silly rhythm. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a detail that thrills him as it at last allows him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the twisting plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Proof

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” brings 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 larger scale, the film's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned components, forever highlighting satisfying, properly cartoonish effects.

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

Notable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and coming out somehow more rectangular than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the series – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones joke and a saltily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original students will likely be chuckling all over again.

Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants arrives on December 19th in the US, December 20th in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.