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Could those early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series enduring for a quarter-century, following experiencing the most surreal of narrative twists? This longevity is in part due to its broad charm, amusing the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about making a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while handing out payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie quickly finds a comfortably silly rhythm. Its script serves as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the finest contemporary American cartoons, the real thrill ride is the twisting plotting.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-turned elements, consistently highlighting satisfying, properly cartoonish effects.

Whether its freewheeling silliness will resonate after the credits is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out somehow more rectangular than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment sure to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the franchise – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early students will likely be chuckling anew.

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