It's hard to believe that the first look we got at the now truly iconic character SpongeBob Squarepants was more than 26 years ago, when it debuted May 1, 1999 at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards. Since then, he and Squidward and Patrick and Mr. Krabs have truly become part of the fabric of American pop culture, with sixteen seasons and three movies' worth of hilarious undersea happenings...not to mention all the t-shirts, lunchboxes, and even a line of really weirdly flavored coffees.

Should you have somehow managed to miss it all - or if you could just use a refresher on the show, the official YouTube channel features this laugh-out-loud, 55-minute guide to some of the best ever scenes. And we couldn't think of any better way to ramp up the anticipation for the December 19 release (in theaters via Paramount) of 'The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants'.

What's it all about? Well, just about thirty seconds into the totally riotous trailer, SpongeBob bravely pronounces, "The heroes journey starts with one squish!" Followed, hardly surprisingly, but him getting squished into some really strange shape - which is what happens sometimes when you're a...sponge. But from that moment on, it's clear this is going to be one of our compressible-but-irrepressible hero's most thrilling - and all around side-splittingly funny - adventures.

We won't give too much away here, but basically SpongeBob is determined to once-and-for-all prove his bravery and stalwart spirit by facing off against the frightful ghost pirate named The Flying Dutchman. Whatever happens from there, you can be pretty sure that it will be a genuinely edge-of-your-seat kind of movie - so come prepared for plenty of waterlogged laughs and excitement!

"We're ready, we're ready!"

(All images courtesy of Paramount)