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Would the original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series enduring for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? Such longevity is partly attributed to its broad charm, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as the legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Groove

Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's alternative weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon settles into a comfortably silly rhythm. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly exploration on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a fact that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Proof

SpongeBob's mission to secure the fabled pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted elements, consistently showcasing satisfying, authentically animated visuals.

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

Memorable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the series – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those early fans will probably be snickering anew.

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