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Could those early viewers who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series enduring for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such longevity is in part attributed to its broad charm, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – possibly even those former students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything as surprising as the legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's other weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film quickly finds a recognizably goofy groove. Its script acts as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it finally allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic gag: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted elements, consistently highlighting pleasing, authentically cartoonish effects.

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

Notable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and coming out inexplicably squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those early fans will probably be chuckling all over again.

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