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Would the early viewers who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob escapades have predicted the series persisting for a quarter-century, following experiencing the most surreal of narrative twists? This staying power is in part due to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those former students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as surprising as the legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this latest movie thinks nothing of making Clancy Brown speak as a pirate while dispensing payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Vibe

Kicking off with a holiday short starring Paramount's alternative long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie quickly settles into a recognizably goofy groove. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it finally allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) Yet, as in the finest contemporary American animation, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted components, forever showcasing satisfying, properly cartoonish visuals.

If its freewheeling silliness will linger after the credits is debatable, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Notable moments include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and coming out somehow squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment guaranteed to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the franchise – and arguably the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, including a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original students will likely be snickering anew.

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