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Could those early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise enduring for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? Such staying power is in part due to its broad appeal, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as surprising 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 dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Vibe

Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie quickly finds a comfortably silly rhythm. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a detail that excites him as it at last qualifies him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best modern American animation, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.

The Adventure for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-turned elements, forever showcasing pleasing, authentically cartoonish effects.

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

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

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a solid addition to the franchise – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a robust Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those original fans will probably be chuckling anew.

Coming to Theaters: 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.