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Would the early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise persisting for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such staying power is in part due to its wide-ranging appeal, amusing the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those former students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything quite as surprising as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing payments 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 new SpongeBob film quickly settles into a comfortably goofy groove. Its script serves as a family-friendly exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it finally allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the finest contemporary American animation, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the legendary pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-turned components, consistently highlighting pleasing, properly animated effects.

Whether its spitballing humor will linger after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

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

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the series – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a hearty Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those original fans will probably be chuckling anew.

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