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Would the original fans who laughed through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the series persisting for a quarter-century, even after experiencing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is partly due to its wide-ranging charm, tickling the funny bones of grown-ups – perhaps even those former students – as well as the youngest viewers. While it can't claim anything as surprising as the memorable David Hasselhoff cameo in the 2004 film, this fourth feature thinks nothing of making Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while handing out royalty cheques to stars like Barbra Streisand. It seems anything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Starting with a holiday short starring Paramount's other long-running family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the latest SpongeBob film soon finds a comfortably goofy rhythm. Its script acts 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 at last allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our overexcitable hero's imagined loop-the-loops.) However, like the finest modern American cartoons, the real rollercoaster is the corkscrew narrative.

The Quest for Pirate Proof

SpongeBob's quest to secure the fabled pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, voiced by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a grander scope, the movie's visual style remains a charming mix of digimation and hand-turned components, consistently highlighting pleasing, properly cartoonish visuals.

Whether its spitballing humor will linger when the lights come up is up for discussion, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Notable moments feature SpongeBob wedging himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow squarer than ever; a brief appearance from a pair of chattering novelty false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to delight the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to endless dishwashing.

The Verdict

In the end, Search for SquarePants is a reliable entry to the franchise – and perhaps the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, including a hearty Davy Jones gag and a saltily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” It's certain: those original 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.