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Would the original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise persisting for a 25 years, following absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? This longevity is partly attributed to its broad charm, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it may not feature anything quite as surprising as the legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Groove

Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon finds a comfortably goofy groove. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a detail that thrills him as it at last allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the finest contemporary American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the legendary swashbuckler certificate 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. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-crafted elements, forever showcasing pleasing, properly cartoonish effects.

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

Memorable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and emerging inexplicably squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the series – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those early fans will likely be snickering anew.

Release Dates: 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.