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Could those early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series enduring for a 25 years, following experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? This staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging appeal, amusing the sense of humor of grown-ups – possibly even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this latest movie thinks nothing of making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Vibe

Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie soon settles into a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a fact that excites him as it at last qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy gag: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, as in the best modern American animation, the real rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the film's aesthetic remains a charming mix of digimation and hand-turned components, forever highlighting satisfying, authentically cartoonish effects.

If its spitballing silliness will linger when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and coming out inexplicably squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the series – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a robust Davy Jones gag and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those early students will likely be snickering all over again.

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