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Would the original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise enduring for a 25 years, following absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? This longevity is in part due to its broad charm, amusing the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature has no qualms about making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly finds a recognizably goofy groove. Its script acts as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a detail that excites him as it at last allows him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, like the finest contemporary American animation, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Quest for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-crafted elements, consistently showcasing satisfying, properly animated effects.

If its freewheeling humor will linger after the credits is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Memorable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a solid addition to the series – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean 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 clear: those early 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 December 26th in Australia and the UK.