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Would the early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise enduring for a 25 years, following experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is partly due to its broad appeal, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – possibly even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this fourth feature has no qualms about having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's other long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly settles into a recognizably silly groove. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it at last qualifies him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest modern American animation, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.

The Adventure for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-turned elements, forever showcasing pleasing, properly cartoonish visuals.

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

Notable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow more rectangular than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the franchise – and arguably the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those original fans will likely be chuckling anew.

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