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Could those original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series enduring for a 25 years, following absorbing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging appeal, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything as unexpected as the legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Vibe

Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's other long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon settles into a comfortably silly rhythm. Its script acts as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a fact that thrills him as it at last allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best modern American animation, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted elements, forever showcasing satisfying, authentically animated effects.

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

Notable moments include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment sure to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original fans will likely be chuckling all over again.

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.