Star Rating:

The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water

Director: Paul Tibbitt

Actors: Antonio Banderas, Matt Berry, Tom Kenny

Release Date: Friday 27th March 2015

Genre(s): Animation

Running time: 92 minutes

Spongebob Squarepants has always been a firm favourite with everyone between the ages of 8 and 38. The anarchic mix of Pythonesque, absurdist humour and sheer craziness isn't for everyone. But those who are familiar with it - and love it - are sure to love this.

The plot is, as you'd expect, completely daft. When the recipe for Krabby Patties - the food of choice for Bikini Bottom - is stolen by Burger Beard (Antonio Banderas) and taken away to the real world, Spongebob must team up with Plankton. Longtime fans will know that Plankton's sole purpose is to steal the recipe for Krabby Patties for his own restaurant, The Chum Bucket. The two are hunted by the citizens of Bikini Bottom, including Patrick, Squidward and Mr. Krab, as they believe the two are responsible for losing the recipe.

The loss of Krabby Patties has turned Bikini Bottom into a post-apocalyptic wasteland, replete with Mad Max references and Sandy Cheek becoming a cult leader. Oh yes, Spongebob Squarepants: Sponge Out Of Water went there. In a desperate attempt to get the recipe back, Plankton and Spongebob create a time-machine that will allow them to travel back and stop themselves from losing the recipe. However, along the way, they meet a talking dolphin voiced by Matt Berry whose mission is to protect the comets from destroying Earth.

If you try to sit down and analyse this film in any meaningful way, you'll tie yourself up in knots. Spongebob Squarepants: Sponge Out Of Water is craziness captured for ninety-odd minutes. Director Paul Tibbitt is smart enough to know that the film's strength lies in the standard animation. Although the posters and marketing suggests the film is more live-action than animation, that's thankfully not the case. The film stutters slightly in the third act when the characters become 3D renders of themselves and stage a final, Marvel-inspired attack on Burger Beard.

The humour throughout Spongebob Squarepants: Sponge Out of Water is infectious and plentiful. The amount of gags and word-puns throughout the film are so numerous that it's entirely possible you'll watch it again and catch several more jokes that zipped past. Comparisons to the first film and the original series are redundant. Obviously, a larger budget is going to mean that there'll be more bells and whistles, but the innate quality of Spongebob is still there.

As good a sequel as one could hope for.