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Would the early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series persisting for a quarter-century, even after absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is in part due to its broad appeal, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Kicking off with a holiday short starring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film quickly settles into a comfortably silly rhythm. Its script acts as a family-friendly exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a detail that thrills him as it at last allows him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An early, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best contemporary American cartoons, the real thrill ride is the twisting narrative.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-crafted components, forever highlighting satisfying, authentically animated visuals.

Whether its freewheeling silliness will linger when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable moments feature SpongeBob wedging 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 delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid entry to the franchise – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those early students will probably be chuckling anew.

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