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Would the original fans who laughed through the first SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the series persisting for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? This staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as surprising as the legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this latest movie thinks nothing of having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Kicking off with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a recognizably silly rhythm. Its script serves as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that thrills him as it finally allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the real rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Proof

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a charming mix of digital animation and hand-crafted components, forever highlighting pleasing, authentically cartoonish effects.

If its spitballing silliness will resonate when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the franchise – and arguably the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original students will probably be chuckling all over again.

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