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Would the early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the franchise enduring for a quarter-century, even after absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such longevity is partly attributed to its broad charm, amusing the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it may not feature anything as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon finds a comfortably goofy groove. Its script acts as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a detail that thrills him as it at last qualifies him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, like the finest modern American cartoons, the real thrill ride is the twisting narrative.

The Quest for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's mission to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a charming mix of digimation and hand-crafted components, forever showcasing satisfying, properly cartoonish effects.

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

Notable moments include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid addition to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original 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.