Nickelodeon // 2009 // 88 Minutes // Not Rated
Reviewed by Judge Gordon Sullivan // July 27th, 2009
Without his square pants, will anyone recognize him?
Before this disc arrived at my door I'd never seen an entire SpongeBob SquarePants episode and knew only the barest plot or character details. What little I had caught didn't lead me to seek out anymore because I found the look of the show fairly ugly and the voice acting obnoxious. But, as an intrepid reporter, I dove under the sea to catch all eight episodes included on To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants. Here are my thoughts:
* "To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants"
This is the only
new episode on the disc, and takes "the clothes make the man" pretty
literally in the case of SpongeBob. Distracted by Patrick while doing his
laundry, SpongeBob accidently shrinks all his square pants. Sadly, the clothing
store won't have any in for months, so SpongeBob decides on round pants instead.
Suddenly, no one recognizes him and he must start all over again in Bikini
Bottom. This was one of the slighter entries on the disc, with the core joke
being fairly well-handled with no one recognizing SpongeBob, but it went on just
a little too long 5/10.
* "Squid's Visit"
As usual, SpongeBob is obsessed with
hanging out with Sqiudward. In this case, old Squiddy says he won't sleep over
at SpongeBob's because he doesn't want to leave the comforts of home. This
prompts SpongeBob to copy Squidward's entire house, to maddening effect. This
was another episode where the central idea was better than the execution. I
liked the idea of driving someone mad by copying everything about their house,
but it was also a little too long and ran out of visual ideas before the story
ended. 5/10.
* "The Splinter"
SpongeBob accidently get his spatula stuck
in the ceiling so he builds a tower of boxes to retrieve it. On his way back
down, his tower falls, sending him skidding across the floor which puts a nasty
splinter in his thumb. When Squidward finds out he threatens to send SpongeBob
home, and so begins several frantic attempts to remove and/or hide the offending
splinter so SpongeBob can stay at work. This episode actually surprised me. I
didn't think a network like Nickelodeon still ran gross-out comedy like this
one. SpongeBob's thumb festers throughout the episode, and when the offending
splinter is finally removed it unleashes a torrent of green goo that is gagging.
In between the gross-outs we get some great visual comedy, so the nastiness is
worth it. 8/10.
* "Slide Whistle Stooges"
SpongeBob and Patrick obtain slide
whistles and proceed to soundtrack Squidward's life with them. This drives
Squidward increasingly insane, with predictably funny results. This was probably
my favorite episode on the disc because the whole "slide whistle
soundtrack" idea was funny, but I never felt like it overstayed its
welcome. Although I can see the sound of the slide whistle getting annoying on
the fourth viewing, the instrument is versatile enough to make this episode
compelling. 8/10.
* "Boating Buddies"
SpongeBob goads Squidward into his first
speeding ticket, so he must go to boating school with, you guessed it,
SpongeBob. I'm just not a fan of the episodes that focus on SpongeBob
antagonizing Squidward. I can see it being cute for a single episode, but by
this point it's just obnoxious, and even though some of the gags are funny they
can't overcome the weariness of the premise. 3/10.
* "The Krabby Kronicle"
Mr. Krabs realizes that the
newspaper business can be very profitable, so he hires SpongeBob as a reporter.
The problem is that the truth doesn't sell that well, so SpongeBob is told to
make up whatever stories he can to sell papers. Eventually, this angers the
citizens of Bikini Bottom as the lies spread. This was an excellent episode that
combined a good message (lying can hurt people) with some clever jokes (like
Edward marrying a pole). This one might go a little over the heads of the
kiddies, but it's a solid morality tale. 8/10.
* "The Slumber Party"
Mr. Krabs' daughter kicks him out of
the house so she can have a slumber party. Worried that his house will be
trashed by the young girls inviting over young boys, Mr. Krabs convinces
SpongeBob to help him infiltrate the party to ensure things go smoothly.
Naturally, they don't. This premise was a little tired, but combining the
sleepover idea with a zombie movie kept things fresh enough, and the idea that
parents meddling causes more trouble than just leaving kids alone is something
the young ones will appreciate. 6/10.
* "Grooming Gary"
For the annual pet festival, SpongeBob
gets Gary all fixed up, but discovers that he's not up on the latest in snail
fashions. This leads him to paint Gary's shell and get him a diamond-studded
collar so he can win a prize at the festival. Naturally, Gary and the other pets
don't appreciate this treatment and revolt. This was another good message
episode that wasn't too heavy handed. It makes good points about treating pets
are friends, not objects, and appreciating friends for who they are, all while
providing hilarious looking examples of snail design. 6/10.
There you have it, a solid collection of SpongeBob SquarePants episodes. My only serious problem with this set is that it's only eight episodes long; a more complete season-style release would be more efficient. On the technical front everything is fine, with the bright, solid colors of Bikini Bottom shining through clearly and all the dialogue and effects clear and detailed. The only extra is an art gallery that contains storyboard panels and some character art.
To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants didn't turn me into a SpongeBob fan, but now I see the attraction.
Not guilty.
Review content copyright © 2009 Gordon Sullivan; Site layout and review format copyright © 1998 - 2013 HipClick Designs LLC
Scales of Justice
Judgment: 85
Perp Profile
Studio: Nickelodeon
Video Formats:
* Full Frame
Audio Formats:
* Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (English)
Subtitles:
* English (CC)
Running Time: 88 Minutes
Release Year: 2009
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distinguishing Marks
* Art Gallery
Accomplices
* IMDb
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0206512/combined