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Could those original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the franchise persisting for a quarter-century, following absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? Such staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it may not feature anything as surprising as the legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon finds a recognizably 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 measures a specific height, a fact that excites him as it at last qualifies him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An early, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, like the finest modern American cartoons, the real rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Proof

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted elements, forever highlighting satisfying, properly cartoonish effects.

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

Memorable moments include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid entry to the series – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a saltily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original fans will likely be chuckling anew.

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.