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Could those original fans who chuckled through the initial SpongeBob adventures have predicted the franchise enduring for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most lysergic of plotlines? Such staying power is partly due to its broad charm, amusing the funny bones of adults – possibly even those former students – as well as the youngest viewers. Although it may not feature anything as surprising as the 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 royalty cheques to music icons like Barbra Streisand. This proves anything can still in the whimsical world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Zany Groove

Starting 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 storyline acts as a PG-rated exploration on the advantages and disadvantages of growing up. This version of SpongeBob (again voiced by Tom Kenny) now measures 36 clams high, a fact that excites him as it at last qualifies him to ride his fantasy coaster. (An early, trippy laugh: our enthusiastic hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, like the best modern American animation, the real rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to secure the legendary pirate license that will prove him a “big guy” leads him into conflict with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the currently ubiquitous Mark Hamill. While the Dutchman's ghost ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digital animation and hand-turned components, forever highlighting pleasing, authentically animated effects.

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

Notable moments include SpongeBob wedging himself into an AC unit and coming out somehow squarer than ever; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a punishment sure to resonate with the six-year-old audience: our hero being subjected to never-ending dishwashing.

The Verdict

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants stands as a reliable addition to the franchise – and perhaps the funniest pirate-themed movie recently, encompassing a hearty Davy Jones joke and a saltily innuendo-laden saying for SpongeBob's pal Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original students will probably be chuckling anew.

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