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Would the early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise enduring for a quarter-century, even after absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? This longevity is partly attributed to its wide-ranging appeal, tickling the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those former students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything as surprising as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Starting with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon finds a comfortably goofy groove. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it at last allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best modern American animation, the true rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Proof

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the film's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted components, consistently showcasing pleasing, properly animated visuals.

Whether its spitballing silliness will linger after the credits is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Memorable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to delight the younger crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those early fans will likely be snickering anew.

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.