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Could those original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the series enduring for a 25 years, following absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? This staying power is in part due to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – alongside the very young viewers. While it may not feature anything as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while handing out payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's other long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon finds a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its script acts as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of growing up. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a detail that excites him as it at last qualifies him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, as in the best modern American cartoons, the true rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.

The Adventure for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the fabled pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into conflict 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 movie's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted elements, consistently highlighting satisfying, authentically cartoonish effects.

If its freewheeling humor will linger when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Notable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably squarer than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid entry to the franchise – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those early fans will probably be chuckling anew.

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