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Would the original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise enduring for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? This longevity is partly due to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the sense of humor of adults – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Vibe

Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film quickly finds a comfortably silly groove. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a detail that excites him as it at last qualifies him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic gag: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, like the best contemporary American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling 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 ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted components, forever showcasing satisfying, properly animated effects.

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

Memorable moments include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably squarer than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid entry to the series – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early fans will likely be chuckling all over again.

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