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Would the early viewers who chuckled through the first SpongeBob escapades have predicted the franchise enduring for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? This staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the sense of humor of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – as well as the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as surprising as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this latest movie thinks nothing of making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Goofy Vibe

Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie soon settles into a recognizably silly groove. Its script serves as a family-friendly exploration on the pros and cons of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a fact that thrills him as it at last allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, as in the finest contemporary American cartoons, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew plotting.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted components, consistently showcasing pleasing, authentically animated visuals.

Whether its freewheeling silliness will linger when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Memorable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and coming out inexplicably squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the younger crowd: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the franchise – and arguably the most humorous pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those early fans will likely be chuckling all over again.

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.