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Would the early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series persisting for a quarter-century, following experiencing the most surreal of narrative twists? This staying power is partly attributed to its wide-ranging charm, amusing the funny bones of grown-ups – possibly even those now grown students – alongside the very young viewers. While it can't claim anything quite as unexpected as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this latest movie thinks nothing of making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while dispensing royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

A Familiar Zany Vibe

Starting with a festive short featuring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob movie soon settles into a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its storyline acts as a family-friendly treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a detail that excites him as it at last allows him to ride his dream rollercoaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) Yet, like the best modern American animation, the real thrill ride is the twisting narrative.

The Quest for Swashbuckling Proof

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” leads him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-crafted elements, forever highlighting pleasing, properly animated effects.

If its spitballing silliness will resonate after the credits is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable scenes include SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out inexplicably squarer than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to resonate with the younger crowd: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the series – and perhaps the funniest pirate-themed movie in years, including a robust Davy Jones gag and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those early students will probably 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.