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Would the original fans who chuckled through the first SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series persisting for a 25 years, even after experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? This longevity is partly due to its wide-ranging appeal, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the very young viewers. While it may not feature anything quite as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this latest movie has no qualms about making a veteran voice actor talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Groove

Starting with a festive short starring Paramount's alternative weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie quickly finds a comfortably silly groove. Its storyline serves as a PG-rated treatise on the advantages and disadvantages of maturity. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a detail that thrills him as it at last allows him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, trippy gag: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the best contemporary American cartoons, the true thrill ride is the corkscrew narrative.

The Adventure for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's quest to obtain the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the spectral Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ever-present Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted components, consistently showcasing satisfying, properly animated effects.

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

Memorable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and coming out inexplicably squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty sure to resonate with the younger audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants stands as a solid addition to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous pirate-themed movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones joke and a cheekily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original fans will probably be snickering anew.

Release Dates: 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.