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Would the early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series persisting for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? Such longevity is partly attributed to its wide-ranging appeal, amusing the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. While it may not feature anything quite as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this latest movie has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Groove

Kicking off with a holiday short starring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon finds a recognizably goofy groove. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a detail that thrills him as it at last qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the finest modern American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the twisting narrative.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted elements, forever showcasing pleasing, authentically cartoonish visuals.

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

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

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the series – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a saltily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original fans will likely be snickering all over again.

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