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Would the early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise enduring for a quarter-century, following absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? This longevity is partly due to its broad charm, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything as surprising as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this fourth feature has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Vibe

Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon settles into a comfortably silly rhythm. Its script serves as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it finally allows him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best modern American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned elements, consistently showcasing pleasing, properly animated visuals.

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

Memorable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out somehow more rectangular than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to delight the six-year-old crowd: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a solid addition to the series – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those early students will probably be chuckling all over again.

Coming to Theaters: 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.