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Would the early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series enduring for a 25 years, following absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such staying power is in part attributed to its broad charm, tickling the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this latest movie thinks nothing of making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon finds a comfortably silly groove. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that excites him as it at last qualifies him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, like the best modern American animation, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Proof

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the film's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted components, consistently showcasing pleasing, authentically cartoonish visuals.

Whether its freewheeling humor will resonate when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Memorable moments include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and coming out inexplicably squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to resonate with 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 series – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a saltily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those original fans will likely be chuckling anew.

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