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Could those early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series enduring for a 25 years, following experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? This longevity is in part due to its broad appeal, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Groove

Kicking off with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon finds a recognizably goofy groove. Its script serves as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a fact that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the real thrill ride is the twisting narrative.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned elements, consistently showcasing satisfying, properly animated visuals.

If its spitballing silliness will resonate after the credits is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Memorable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow more rectangular than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the franchise – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early fans will likely be chuckling all over again.

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