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Would the original fans who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the series enduring for a 25 years, following experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? This staying power is partly due to its broad charm, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – possibly even those former students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Vibe

Starting with a holiday short featuring Paramount's alternative long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon settles into a comfortably silly groove. Its script acts as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a detail that excites him as it at last qualifies him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the film's aesthetic remains a charming mix of digital animation and hand-turned components, forever highlighting satisfying, properly animated effects.

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

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging inexplicably more rectangular than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the younger crowd: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

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

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