For his first big-screen appearance, the writers for cult cartoon SpongeBob Squarepants decided to stick with what works best: Letting SpongeBob be himself. I had two concerns when I first heard about this movie: First, in this new era of digital animation ruled by Pixar creations like Nemo, does a cartoon goof like SpongeBob really have a place? Second, watching half an hour of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon on television is one thing, but an hour or more of it?

But darn it, everything in this movie worked and I loved it. As any follower of the TV show could tell you, the plot of each episode is not important. One watches the show for the lovable, happy-go-lucky, burger-flipping SpongeBob go about his carefree existence in Bikini Bottom. And yes, there is a plentiful supply of outrageous silliness and somewhat witty but not overly contrived humor. The jokes work because the writers keep things simple and direct.

In fact, the humour in SpongeBob can be much appreciated by older teens and adults as well. For example, to show its main character in a state of depression, obviously the directors couldn’t show him drinking away his misery in what is ostensibly a kiddie flick. Instead, the writers cleverly substituted ice cream for beer, and the scene retains the same message.

Actually, during the entire duration of the film, I heard more of the adults in the theater laughing out loud, though there were far more kids than adults at the screening. So what does all this mean? As long as the jokes work and the characters are likable, it doesn’t matter if the cartoon is in retro style instead of a glossy finish. Plus, nobody of any age can really get enough of SpongeBob.

So you ask: What’s the general plot of the movie? Was that David Hasselhoff I saw in the trailer? I say: Who cares. Okay, okay… SpongeBob and his best pal Patrick Star are sent on a mission to find King Neptune’s crown in order to save Bikini Bottom. That’s all you need to know. Go, already.