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Could those early viewers who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise persisting for a quarter-century, even after experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? Such staying power is partly attributed to its broad appeal, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Kicking off with a holiday short starring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon finds a recognizably silly groove. Its storyline acts as a family-friendly exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it at last qualifies him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the finest modern American animation, the true thrill ride is the twisting narrative.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship adds a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful mix of digital animation and hand-turned elements, forever showcasing pleasing, properly animated visuals.

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

Memorable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow squarer than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the series – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original fans will likely be chuckling anew.

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