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Would the original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise persisting for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? This staying power is partly due to its broad appeal, amusing the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those former students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as the legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, 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 remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a recognizably silly rhythm. Its script serves as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a detail that excites him as it finally qualifies him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, like the best contemporary American animation, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned components, forever showcasing pleasing, authentically cartoonish effects.

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

Notable moments include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably squarer than before; a cameo 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 endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid entry to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original students will likely be chuckling all over again.

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