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Could those original fans who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series enduring for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? Such staying power is in part attributed to its wide-ranging appeal, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – alongside the very young viewers. Although it may not feature anything quite as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film quickly finds a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated exploration on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a detail that excites him as it at last allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American cartoons, 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” brings him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship adds a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned elements, consistently showcasing satisfying, properly animated effects.

If its spitballing silliness will linger when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable moments include SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow more rectangular than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the younger crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early students will probably be chuckling anew.

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