SpongeBob's Latest: Search for SquarePants Review – An Adventurous Helping of Giggle-Provoking Silliness

Would the early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise persisting for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is in part attributed 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 can't claim anything quite as surprising as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Vibe

Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film quickly settles into a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a detail that excites him as it at last qualifies him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a charming mix of digimation and hand-turned elements, consistently highlighting pleasing, properly animated effects.

If its spitballing humor will linger when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and coming out somehow more rectangular than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to delight the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid addition to the series – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those early fans will probably be chuckling anew.

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