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Would the original fans who laughed through the first SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the franchise persisting for a quarter-century, even after experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? This staying power is in part attributed to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the sense of humor of adults – perhaps even those former students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie thinks nothing of having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Vibe

Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon finds a comfortably goofy groove. Its storyline 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 fact that excites him as it at last allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the best contemporary American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the twisting plotting.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted components, consistently highlighting satisfying, properly cartoonish visuals.

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

Memorable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to delight the younger audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the series – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a saltily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original fans will probably be chuckling all over again.

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