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Could those original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series persisting for a quarter-century, even after absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? Such staying power is in part due to its broad appeal, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything quite as surprising as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Groove

Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly finds a recognizably goofy groove. Its script serves as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages 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 experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful mix of digital animation and hand-crafted components, forever highlighting satisfying, authentically animated effects.

If its spitballing silliness will resonate after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably more rectangular than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty 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 franchise – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those early students will probably be chuckling all over again.

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