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Could those early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series persisting for a 25 years, following experiencing the most surreal of narrative twists? This staying power is partly attributed to its wide-ranging appeal, amusing the sense of humor of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Vibe

Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a comfortably silly rhythm. Its script acts as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that thrills him as it at last allows him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Proof

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful mix of digital animation and hand-turned components, consistently highlighting pleasing, properly animated effects.

Whether its spitballing silliness will resonate after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and coming out somehow squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty sure to resonate with the younger crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a solid addition to the series – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones gag and a saltily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early students will likely be chuckling all over again.

Coming to Theaters: 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.