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Would the original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series persisting for a 25 years, following experiencing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such longevity is in part due to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the sense of humor of adults – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything quite as unexpected as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature has no qualms about making a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything can still in the whimsical 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 new SpongeBob movie soon finds a recognizably silly rhythm. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it at last allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy gag: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, as in the finest contemporary American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a delightful mix of digital animation and hand-crafted elements, forever highlighting pleasing, properly animated effects.

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

Memorable scenes feature 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 guaranteed to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the franchise – and arguably the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those original fans will likely be snickering anew.

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