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Would the early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise persisting for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most lysergic of narrative twists? Such staying power is in part due to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – alongside the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's alternative weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon finds a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a detail that excites him as it finally allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best modern American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.

The Adventure for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's quest 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 ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a charming mix of digital animation and hand-turned elements, forever highlighting pleasing, authentically animated effects.

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

Memorable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment sure to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid addition to the series – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those early fans will likely be chuckling anew.

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