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Could those early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series enduring for a 25 years, following experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? This staying power is in part attributed to its broad charm, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – alongside the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie thinks nothing of having a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Vibe

Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly finds a recognizably 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 measures a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, trippy laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best modern American cartoons, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship adds a grander scope, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted components, consistently showcasing pleasing, authentically animated visuals.

If its spitballing silliness will linger after the credits is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow 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.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the series – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a hearty Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early students will likely be snickering 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.