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Would the early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series persisting for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? This longevity is in part attributed to its broad appeal, amusing the sense of humor of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as surprising as the legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Vibe

Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly settles into a recognizably silly groove. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it at last qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, trippy gag: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Quest for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's mission 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 currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-crafted components, forever showcasing pleasing, properly cartoonish visuals.

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

Notable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and coming out inexplicably squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to delight the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid entry to the series – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's 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.