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Would the original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series enduring for a quarter-century, following absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? Such staying power is in part due to its broad appeal, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as surprising as the legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about having Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Vibe

Kicking off with a holiday short starring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a detail that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, like the finest contemporary American animation, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.

The Quest for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted components, forever highlighting satisfying, properly cartoonish effects.

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

Notable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow squarer than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment sure to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the series – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a saltily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original students will likely be snickering all over again.

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