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Would the early viewers who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series enduring for a quarter-century, even after absorbing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This staying power is partly due to its broad appeal, tickling the funny bones of adults – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything as unexpected as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while handing out payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Vibe

Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's other long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film quickly 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 stands 36 clams high, a detail that excites him as it at last qualifies him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the finest contemporary American animation, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship adds a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a charming mix of digimation and hand-crafted elements, forever highlighting satisfying, properly animated visuals.

Whether its freewheeling silliness will resonate after the credits is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and coming out somehow more rectangular than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the franchise – and arguably the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original fans will likely 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 December 26th in Australia and the UK.