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Could those early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the franchise persisting for a quarter-century, even after experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is partly attributed to its wide-ranging appeal, amusing the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it may not feature anything quite as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon settles into a comfortably silly groove. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a fact that excites him as it finally allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best contemporary American cartoons, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.

The Adventure for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the fabled pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship adds a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned components, forever showcasing pleasing, properly cartoonish visuals.

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

Notable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably squarer than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

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

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