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Could those original fans who laughed through the initial SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the franchise enduring for a 25 years, following absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such longevity is in part due to its wide-ranging appeal, amusing the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it may not feature anything quite as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Vibe

Kicking off with a holiday short starring Paramount's other long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon finds a recognizably goofy groove. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated exploration on the pros and cons of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it at last allows him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, trippy laugh: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest modern American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Proof

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the movie's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-turned components, consistently highlighting satisfying, authentically animated visuals.

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

Notable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out somehow more rectangular than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the younger crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid entry to the series – and arguably the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, encompassing a robust Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original students will probably be snickering all over again.

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.