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Would the early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise persisting for a quarter-century, following absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? This longevity is in part due to its broad charm, amusing the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this latest movie has no qualms about making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Kicking off with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a comfortably goofy groove. Its script acts as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it at last allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the best contemporary American animation, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned elements, forever highlighting satisfying, authentically cartoonish effects.

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

Notable scenes include SpongeBob wedging 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 guaranteed to delight the younger crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the franchise – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones gag and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those original students will probably be snickering all over again.

Coming to Theaters: 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.