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Could those original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series persisting for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is partly attributed to its broad appeal, tickling the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those former students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything as unexpected as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this latest movie thinks nothing of having Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Vibe

Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon settles into a recognizably silly rhythm. Its storyline serves as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a detail that excites him as it at last allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, like the finest contemporary American cartoons, the real rollercoaster is the twisting plotting.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Proof

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a grander scope, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-turned elements, consistently showcasing satisfying, properly cartoonish effects.

Whether its spitballing humor will linger after the credits is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably more rectangular than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to delight the six-year-old crowd: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the series – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original fans will likely be snickering anew.

Release Dates: 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.