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Would the early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise enduring for a 25 years, following absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? This longevity is partly due to its broad appeal, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – alongside the very young viewers. Although it may not feature anything quite as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while handing out payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Vibe

Starting with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon finds a comfortably silly groove. Its script serves as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a detail that excites him as it at last qualifies him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best contemporary American cartoons, the real rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-turned components, forever highlighting pleasing, properly cartoonish visuals.

Whether its freewheeling humor will linger when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Notable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and coming out inexplicably more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment sure to delight the younger crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

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

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