Critics rating: 2.5 Stars

Cast: Tom Kenny, Antonio Banderas, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Clancy Brown, Mr. Lawnrence, Carolyn Lawrence.

Direction: Paul Tibbitt

Produced: Paul Tibbitt, Mary Parent

Written: Glenn Berger, Jonathan Aibel

Genre: Comedy

Duration: 92

For Nickelodeon viewers, this is a nostalgic trip down memory lane if you have not visited the series in a while. For the young uns, it is an orientation with a long-running cartoon character. The film takes into account the uninitiated by giving the audience the lowdown on the setting from Antonio Banderas dressed as Pirate Burger-Beard. The actor sinks his teeth in his part with the same gusto Nicole Kidman brought to her Milicent in Paddington.

There is an underwater town called Bikini Bottom inhabited by a motley group of characters, some of whom work at the Krusty Krab, the most sought-after burger joint in town. Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown) is the miserly owner, SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) the star chef and Plankton (Mr. Lawrence) their arch-nemesis with his eye on the Krabby Patty recipe.

Said recipe disappears and the town descends into anarchy. “Welcome to the apocalypse,” says Mr. Krabs to his cashier Squidward (Rodger Bumpass), “I hope you like leather.” Plankton is wrongfully implicated in the disappearance and SpongeBob decides to go back in time to find the recipe.

What follows are very trippy sequences of time travelling with a photo booth as the vehicle. There are oodles of physical comedy, some grossness (as is peculiar to the cartoon), musical seagulls, a magical dolphin and a few subversions of the genre trope. The SpongeBob Movie is a series of surreal gags strung together but works as a mindless entertainer for those who crack up easily, even if the 3D does not enhance the story telling in any way.

There are a few nods to The Shining, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and even Iron Man. Silliness abounds with a few pop cultural references which balance out the demographic appeal.

It is a jolly romp for family audiences and die-hard fans. Its hysterical exuberance may be overwhelming for those new to the series, but keep an open mind and it might just grow on you.