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Would the original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the franchise persisting for a 25 years, following absorbing the most lysergic of narrative twists? Such staying power is in part attributed to its broad charm, tickling the funny bones of adults – possibly even those former students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this fourth feature has no qualms about making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Vibe

Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie quickly finds a recognizably silly rhythm. Its script serves as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it finally allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic laugh: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, as in the finest contemporary American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.

The Adventure for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted elements, consistently showcasing pleasing, authentically cartoonish visuals.

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

Memorable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow squarer than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the series – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a cheekily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original students will likely be snickering all over again.

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