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Could those original fans who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise enduring for a 25 years, following experiencing the most lysergic of narrative twists? Such longevity is partly due to its broad charm, amusing the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – alongside the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about having Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon settles into a recognizably silly groove. Its script acts as a family-friendly exploration on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it at last qualifies him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An early, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the finest contemporary American animation, the real rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the legendary pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a delightful mix of digital animation and hand-crafted components, consistently highlighting satisfying, authentically animated effects.

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

Memorable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and emerging inexplicably more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid entry to the series – and arguably the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, encompassing a robust Davy Jones joke and a saltily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those original fans will probably be chuckling anew.

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