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Would the original fans who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the franchise persisting for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging appeal, tickling the sense of humor of adults – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it may not feature anything as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon settles into a comfortably silly groove. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a detail that excites him as it finally qualifies him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best modern American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the fabled pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned components, forever highlighting pleasing, properly animated effects.

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

Notable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and coming out somehow squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the series – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those early students will probably be chuckling all over again.

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