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Could those early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the franchise persisting for a 25 years, following absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such longevity is in part due to its wide-ranging appeal, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as surprising as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Vibe

Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie soon finds a comfortably silly rhythm. Its script acts as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons 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 experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the movie's aesthetic remains a charming mix of digital animation and hand-crafted components, consistently highlighting satisfying, properly animated visuals.

Whether its spitballing humor will linger when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out somehow more rectangular than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to delight the six-year-old crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the series – and arguably the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early students will likely be chuckling all over again.

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