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Would the early viewers who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series enduring for a quarter-century, even after absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? This longevity is in part due to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the sense of humor of adults – perhaps even those former students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie thinks nothing of having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Groove

Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon settles into a comfortably silly rhythm. Its storyline acts as a family-friendly exploration on the pros and cons of growing up. 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, trippy gag: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the finest contemporary American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned components, forever showcasing pleasing, properly cartoonish visuals.

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

Notable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and coming out inexplicably squarer than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a solid addition to the series – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original students will likely be chuckling all over again.

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