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Would the early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series persisting for a quarter-century, even after absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? This staying power is in part 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 may not feature anything quite as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Groove

Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon settles into a comfortably silly groove. Its script acts as a family-friendly exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a detail that excites him as it at last allows him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An early, trippy gag: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best contemporary American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a charming mix of digimation and hand-crafted components, consistently showcasing pleasing, authentically cartoonish visuals.

Whether its freewheeling humor will resonate after the credits is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Memorable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing 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 younger audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original students will probably be snickering 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.