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Could those early viewers who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise persisting for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This staying power is partly due to its broad charm, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this latest movie has no qualms about making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while handing out payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Vibe

Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a recognizably goofy groove. Its script acts as a family-friendly exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it at last qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, trippy laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best contemporary American cartoons, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned elements, consistently showcasing pleasing, authentically animated effects.

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

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing 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 sure to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the franchise – and perhaps the funniest pirate-themed movie in years, including a hearty Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those early fans will likely be snickering anew.

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