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Would the early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise enduring for a 25 years, following experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? This longevity is in part due to its broad charm, amusing the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those former students – alongside the very young viewers. While it may not feature anything quite as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this latest movie thinks nothing of having Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Groove

Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's alternative weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie quickly finds a comfortably silly rhythm. Its storyline acts as a family-friendly exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a fact that excites him as it finally qualifies him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best modern American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted components, consistently showcasing satisfying, authentically cartoonish visuals.

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

Memorable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and coming out inexplicably squarer than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to delight the younger crowd: our hero being forced into never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid addition to the series – and perhaps the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's clear: those early students will likely be snickering anew.

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