Yeah, it’s a film for kids… but the majority of SpongeBob Squarepants fans are actually Generation-Y-born-1990s babies, and as much as it hurts to say (as a 24 year-old fan for all those years), I was definitely concerned that Spongebob Squarepants: Sponge Out of Water would be well past it’s use-by date.

These days the TV show is clutching at straws to recapture the magic of a sponge that lives in a pineapple under the sea. However, seemingly from nowhere, Nickelodeon has scrapped the pennies together to release the series’ second feature length film, and the new installment is set to surprise fans both old and new.

For those that came in late, this is a cartoon famous for the undersea adventures of its loveable idiot protagonist, SpongeBob Squarepants, and his motley crew of unusual friends: Patrick Star (a Starfish), Squidward (an octopus) Sandy (A squirrel) and Mr. Krabs (no guessing here, he’s a crab).

SpongeBob is a naturally curious and loveable character, despite being dimwitted and gullible; who works at the Krusty Krab, a local food joint famous for its ‘Krabby Patties’ . Set in the aquatic town of Bikini Bottom, we revisit Plankton – owner of rival restaurant ‘The Chum Bucket’ whom, throughout the series, plots to steal the secret recipe for the Krabby Patties to make his business mst profitable.

This film explores the story of the recipe going missing, however not at the hands of the puny Plankton, but by Burger Beard – a live-action Antonio Banderas, playing a shifty pirate. Beard, having discovered a sacred book on an island endeavours to create his own franchise on land using the Krabby Patty formula.

What follows next is 90 minutes of hilarity, insanity and stupidity as SpongeBob and Plankton work together to clear their names both being accused of stealing the recipe after it ‘magically’ goes missing.

Touching on the first SpongeBob film, the issue of the characters going on land comes to the forefront as their adventure unfolds. Thanks to Bubbles the Magic Dolphin (yes seriously, I can’t make up something that random) SpongeBob and crew surface the ocean and arrive on a city beach in the real world.

This is the main selling point evident in the trailers, as we are presented with what comes off as very cool art-designed animation that blends the cartoon and live-action world in a way where it kinda works.

It’s not the only crazy art style that the directors have employed… on multiple occasions we see the characters in these obscure, sometimes trippy animations very differently to the way they are presented in the actual show. The quality has certainly ‘upped’ – as it should be when a television show hits the big screen.

Spongebob Squarepants: Sponge Out of Water is a silly movie filled with all the expectations of a children’s film: fart jokes, absurd scenarios and a nice message for the kids. It features the return of the original cast and director of the show and the first film, and manages to recapture some of the old magic that old school fans hold dear, while simultaneously working to a whole new audience that may invigorate the show into a new run on TV.

That’s’ a good thing. ‘Young’ Sam would have loved it.