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Could those early viewers who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the franchise enduring for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most surreal of plotlines? Such staying power is in part due to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it may not feature anything as unexpected as the legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this latest movie has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Vibe

Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon finds a comfortably goofy groove. 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 stands a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it finally allows him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the real thrill ride is the twisting narrative.

The Adventure for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted components, consistently showcasing satisfying, authentically cartoonish visuals.

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

Notable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the series – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original students will probably be snickering anew.

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