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Could those early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series persisting for a 25 years, following experiencing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such staying power is in part due to its wide-ranging appeal, tickling the sense of humor of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. While it may not feature anything as unexpected as the legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Groove

Starting with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly finds a comfortably goofy groove. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a detail that excites him as it finally allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the best modern American animation, the real rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted components, forever highlighting pleasing, properly cartoonish visuals.

Whether its spitballing silliness will resonate when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Memorable moments include SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a solid addition to the series – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original fans will probably be chuckling anew.

Release Dates: 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.