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Could those original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise persisting for a quarter-century, following experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? This longevity is partly due to its wide-ranging appeal, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this latest movie thinks nothing of making a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while handing out payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Groove

Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's other long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon settles into a recognizably silly groove. Its script serves as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it at last qualifies him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, as in the best contemporary American cartoons, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's mission to secure the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship adds a grander scope, the movie's aesthetic remains a charming mix of digimation and hand-turned components, consistently highlighting satisfying, properly animated effects.

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

Notable moments include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow more rectangular than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the franchise – and arguably the most humorous pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a robust Davy Jones joke and a saltily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those original students will probably be chuckling anew.

Coming to Theaters: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on 19 December in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and 26 December in Australia and the UK.