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Could those early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise persisting for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? This staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging appeal, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. While it may not feature anything quite as surprising as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about having a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while handing out payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon finds a recognizably silly rhythm. Its script acts as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a detail that thrills him as it at last qualifies him to experience his dream rollercoaster. (An initial, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the best modern American animation, the true rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.

The Adventure for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's quest to secure the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the film's aesthetic remains a charming bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted elements, consistently showcasing satisfying, authentically cartoonish effects.

Whether its freewheeling humor will resonate when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Memorable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow squarer than before; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to resonate with the six-year-old crowd: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the series – and arguably the funniest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is certain: those early fans will likely be snickering anew.

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