The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water 2015

Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press: If you like the yellow guy on TV, you should have a good, squishy time here, too. Read more

Wesley Morris, Grantland: I never know what I want from commercial animated entertainment, but I do know that I like being able to suspect that -- by the standards of the competition -- its makers might be outlaws and lunatics. Read more

Sara Stewart, New York Post: Ultimately, for the show's fans, it may not matter if "Sponge Out of Water" shows a hint of mildew. Read more

Soren Anderson, Seattle Times: This megadose of Spongeyness is laugh-out-loud funny. A lot. Read more

Andrew Barker, Variety: At times there's a genuine sense of daring to the film's freewheeling anarchy, its refusal to stick to a central theme or impart any sort of lesson. Read more

Gwen Ihnat, AV Club: There's no heartfelt, overarching message here-even teamwork, as much as it's mentioned, doesn't seem to stick with anyone-but that doesn't detract from the fun. Read more

Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic: The plot is straightforward, predictable and slight, no more intricate a plot than a 15-minute TV episode would have. It's the freewheeling madness of its execution that makes the movie such a trip - as in acid trip. Read more

Tom Russo, Boston Globe: Maybe we shouldn't have expected too much from "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water." Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: The story is just a pretext for sustained, rapid-fire gags, many of them hysterical, that range from movie parodies to Gary Larson-worthy flights of cartoon weirdness. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: [The film] runs a reasonable-sounding 92 minutes. Yet those 92 feel like more than enough. Read more

Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter: While it has plenty of zany moments, SpongeBob's second feature outing proves less absorbing than the first. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: All of the strangely charming cartoony undersea nonsense of SpongeBob that's delighted kids and stoners for year comes to the surface in "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water." Prepare to giggle. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: Not the most gripping narrative, but the frenetic pace and nonstop gags will please young fans. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Even childless (and sober) I still had a pretty good time, and if you like silliness with a sprinkling of surrealism, you will too. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: The spirit of the series remains true: cheerfully random jokes, blink-and-you'll-miss-them references and, above all, a silly, stubbornly sentimental streak that only the crabbiest cynic could dismiss. Read more

Nicolas Rapold, New York Times: While less fluid and fresh than its 2004 predecessor, the new film displays enough nutty writing and sheer brio to confirm the stamina of its enduring and skillfully voiced characters. Read more

David Hiltbrand, Philadelphia Inquirer: You can tell the script is short on punch lines by how often it resorts to poop and fart jokes, the last refuge of the desperate gag writer. Read more

Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com: "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water" remains true to the surrealism of its animated television roots. But it also tries to force a live-action element which isn't as comfortable a fit as a certain pair of symmetrical trousers. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water" weaves a silly - and often funny - spell. It's a scrappy little B-movie that zips along rather entertainingly. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Even kids will smell something phony about the repeated cheers of "Teamwork!" And any grown-up who thinks the obvious puns are somehow clever or subversive has been smoking seaweed. Read more

John Semley, Globe and Mail: The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water mostly nails what has always made the character, and his brightly coloured underwater world, so endearing: the abundant innocence, the welcome lack of cynicism and the out-and-out stupidity. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: A goofy gag-filled surf-and-turf romp that will entertain adults with its ridiculous lunacy as it delights kids with colourful fun. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: You certainly don't have to be a fan of the show to find yourself enchanted by the goofball humor. Read more

Jim Slotek, Toronto Sun: For my part, it's the most laughs I've had at a theatre this year. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: While the outcome is intermittently funny, it's also watered-down and hyperactive. Read more

Simon Abrams, Village Voice: Business as usual for the irrepressibly cheerful, pineapple-dwelling sea-creature. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: It's big, loud, choppy, in-your-face, and absolutely, positively glorious. Read more

Jen Chaney, Washington Post: There's something about this project that, despite checking all of the requisite plot and sensibility boxes, doesn't convey as an organic work of SpongeBob-ishness. Read more