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Would the early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise persisting for a 25 years, following absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? This staying power is partly attributed to its wide-ranging appeal, amusing the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything as unexpected as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Kicking off with a holiday short starring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon settles into a comfortably goofy groove. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly exploration on the pros and cons of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a detail that excites him as it at last allows him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An early, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the best modern American animation, the real rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.

The Quest for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted components, consistently showcasing pleasing, properly cartoonish visuals.

If its spitballing silliness will linger after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to delight the younger audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid addition to the series – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones gag and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original students will likely be snickering all over again.

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