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Could those early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the franchise persisting for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? This staying power is partly attributed to its broad charm, amusing the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – alongside the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything as unexpected as the legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Vibe

Kicking off with a holiday 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 serves as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a detail that excites him as it at last qualifies him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An early, psychedelic gag: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best modern American cartoons, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned elements, consistently highlighting pleasing, authentically cartoonish effects.

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

Memorable moments include SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out somehow more rectangular than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to delight the six-year-old crowd: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the series – and arguably the most humorous pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those early fans will likely be chuckling anew.

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