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Would the original fans who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise persisting for a 25 years, following absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? Such staying power is in part attributed to its wide-ranging appeal, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while handing out payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Vibe

Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie soon settles into a comfortably silly rhythm. Its storyline acts as a family-friendly 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 experience his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the finest modern American animation, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Proof

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted components, forever showcasing satisfying, authentically animated visuals.

Whether its freewheeling silliness will resonate when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Notable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out somehow squarer than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to delight the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the series – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original students will likely be snickering 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.