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Would the original fans who laughed through the initial SpongeBob escapades have envisioned the franchise enduring for a 25 years, following absorbing the most lysergic of narrative twists? This longevity is partly due to its broad appeal, tickling the funny bones of adults – possibly even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. Although it can't claim anything quite as surprising as a certain memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 movie, this latest movie thinks nothing of having a veteran voice actor speak as a pirate while handing out payments to music icons like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything remains possible in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other weathered babysitters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob film soon finds a recognizably goofy rhythm. Its script serves as a PG-rated exploration on the pros and cons of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures a specific height, a fact that thrills him as it finally qualifies him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An initial, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the best modern American animation, the true thrill ride is the twisting plotting.

The Quest for Pirate Credentials

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into conflict with the spectral Flying Dutchman, voiced by the currently ever-present Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the film's visual style remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted elements, forever highlighting pleasing, properly cartoonish effects.

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

Memorable moments feature SpongeBob squeezing himself into an AC unit and coming out 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 subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a solid entry to the franchise – and arguably the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie in years, including a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden catchphrase for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those early fans will probably be snickering all over again.

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