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Could those early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise persisting for a quarter-century, even after absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? Such longevity is in part due to its broad charm, tickling the funny bones of adults – possibly even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything as surprising as the legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, 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 remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Vibe

Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie soon finds a comfortably silly groove. Its storyline acts as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it finally allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the best contemporary American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship adds a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-turned elements, forever highlighting pleasing, properly animated visuals.

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

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out somehow squarer than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to delight the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the franchise – and perhaps the funniest pirate-themed movie in years, including a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those original students will probably be snickering anew.

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