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Could those early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series persisting for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such staying power is partly attributed to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – possibly even those former students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Kicking off with a festive short starring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon finds a recognizably goofy groove. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it at last qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the finest modern American animation, the real thrill ride is the twisting plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the legendary pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted components, consistently highlighting pleasing, properly cartoonish effects.

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

Notable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and coming out somehow more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to delight the younger crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the series – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, including a hearty Davy Jones gag and a saltily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original students will probably be snickering all over again.

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