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Could those early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the franchise persisting for a quarter-century, even after absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such staying power is partly attributed to its broad appeal, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Vibe

Kicking off with a festive short starring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly finds a recognizably goofy groove. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it finally allows him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An early, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the finest modern American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the movie's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted elements, consistently highlighting pleasing, authentically animated effects.

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

Notable moments include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the franchise – and arguably the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early students will likely be chuckling anew.

Coming to Theaters: 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.