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Could those original fans who laughed through the first SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the franchise enduring for a 25 years, following absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such longevity is partly attributed to its broad charm, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything as surprising as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie thinks nothing of making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Vibe

Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly finds a comfortably silly rhythm. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it at last allows him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An early, trippy gag: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the best contemporary American animation, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the legendary pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted elements, forever showcasing satisfying, authentically animated effects.

If its freewheeling silliness will resonate after the credits is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow more rectangular than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the series – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, 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 early fans will probably be chuckling all over again.

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