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Could those original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise enduring for a 25 years, following absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? This longevity is partly due to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the youngest viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about having Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Kicking off with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative long-running babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon settles into a comfortably silly groove. Its script serves as a family-friendly treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it at last allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, psychedelic gag: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, like the finest modern American animation, the real thrill ride is the corkscrew plotting.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the legendary pirate license that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ship adds a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful mix of digital animation and hand-crafted components, forever highlighting pleasing, authentically cartoonish effects.

Whether its spitballing humor will resonate after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a strong SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out somehow more rectangular than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a punishment sure to delight the younger crowd: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, encompassing a robust 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 original fans will probably be snickering all over again.

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