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Could those original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise enduring for a quarter-century, even after absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is partly due to its broad charm, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – alongside the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Kicking off with a holiday short starring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon finds a recognizably silly groove. Its storyline acts as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages 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 allows him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best modern American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.

The Adventure for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship adds a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a charming mix of digital animation and hand-turned elements, consistently highlighting pleasing, authentically cartoonish effects.

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

Memorable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably more rectangular than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the series – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily suggestive catchphrase 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 debuts on 19 December in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.