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Would the early viewers who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the franchise enduring for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? This staying power is in part due to its broad charm, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those former students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as the legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of having a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Vibe

Kicking off with a festive short starring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly finds a recognizably silly groove. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated exploration on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it at last qualifies him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, trippy gag: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the best modern American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.

The Quest for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's quest to secure the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship adds a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned components, forever highlighting satisfying, authentically cartoonish visuals.

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

Notable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and coming out somehow squarer than before; 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 subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as 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 saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those early students will probably be chuckling all over again.

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