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Would the early viewers who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the series persisting for a 25 years, following experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This longevity is in part due to its broad charm, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it can't claim 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 handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Groove

Starting with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly settles into a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its script acts as a family-friendly exploration on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it at last allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest modern American animation, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled pirate license 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 grander scope, the film's aesthetic remains a charming mix of digital animation and hand-crafted components, forever showcasing pleasing, properly cartoonish visuals.

Whether its freewheeling humor will linger when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Memorable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and coming out somehow squarer than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the younger crowd: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the series – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original students will likely be snickering anew.

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