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Could those early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series enduring for a 25 years, following experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is partly due to its broad charm, tickling the funny bones of adults – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as surprising as the legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Groove

Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon settles into a recognizably silly groove. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a detail that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the best modern American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.

The Adventure for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the legendary pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted components, forever showcasing pleasing, authentically cartoonish visuals.

Whether its spitballing silliness will linger after the credits is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and emerging inexplicably more rectangular than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid addition to the series – and perhaps the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a robust Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early fans will probably be snickering anew.

Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on 19 December in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.