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Would the original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series enduring for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? Such staying power is partly attributed to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything quite as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this latest movie has no qualms about making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's other weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon finds a recognizably goofy rhythm. Its script serves as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it at last qualifies him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, as in the finest modern American animation, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship adds a grander scope, the film's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned elements, forever showcasing pleasing, authentically animated visuals.

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

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and emerging somehow squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid addition to the series – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a hearty Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early students will probably be snickering all over again.

Coming to Theaters: 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.