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Could those original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise enduring for a quarter-century, following experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is partly due to its broad appeal, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything as surprising as the legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this fourth feature has no qualms about making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Vibe

Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly settles into a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life 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 initial, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American cartoons, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Quest for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship adds a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a delightful mix of digimation and hand-turned elements, consistently highlighting pleasing, authentically animated effects.

If its spitballing humor will resonate 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 emerging inexplicably more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment 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 entry to the franchise – and arguably the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those early students will likely be snickering all over again.

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