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Could those early viewers who laughed through the first SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the franchise enduring for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most surreal of plotlines? Such longevity is in part attributed to its broad charm, amusing the funny bones of adults – possibly even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. While it may not feature anything quite as unexpected as a certain legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 film, this latest movie thinks nothing of having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything remains possible in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Vibe

Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film quickly settles into a comfortably silly rhythm. Its script acts as a PG-rated treatise 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 fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best contemporary American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the legendary swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship adds a grander scope, the film's visual style remains a charming bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted components, consistently showcasing pleasing, properly animated effects.

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

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and emerging inexplicably squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty sure to delight the six-year-old crowd: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid addition to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones gag and a cheekily suggestive saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original students will probably be snickering all over again.

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