The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water

Nothing has changed a decade on from the first movie based on the multimedia franchise. Under the expert guidance of TV series writer/director Paul Tibbitt, sophisticated adult gags jostle with inspired childish silliness, each element dovetailing for increased inventiveness. Here, dastardly pirate Burger Beard (an ever game Antonio Banderas) steals an ancient book Indiana Jones-style, then relates the story within to a flock of talking seagulls. It tells of the day the secret Krabby Patty recipe went missing from the Bikini Bottom diner causing doomsday and the resulting quest to find it sees archenemies SpongeBob (voiced by Tom Kenny) and Plankton (Doug Lawrence) pooling resources. They embark on an amazing range of visually thrilling set pieces and the real world flows smoothly into Candy Crush-like CG animation with wink-wink references to the Marvel universe. There are also nods to Stanley Kubrick, Douglas Adams and Mad Max, and snatches of Ennio Morricone in the soundtrack add to the smart and infectiously anarchic mix.