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Could those original fans who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series enduring for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most surreal of narrative twists? This longevity is partly due to its broad charm, amusing the sense of humor of adults – perhaps even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it may not feature anything as unexpected as the legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this latest movie thinks nothing of having a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Groove

Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film quickly finds a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated exploration on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that excites him as it at last allows him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, as in the finest modern American animation, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the movie's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned components, forever showcasing pleasing, authentically cartoonish effects.

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

Memorable moments include 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 punishment guaranteed to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable entry to the series – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a saltily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early fans will probably be chuckling anew.

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