Nickelodeon // 2009 // 108 Minutes // Not Rated
Reviewed by Judge Roy Hrab // November 20th, 2009
"Don't make me have a flashback."
SpongeBob SquarePants: Truth Or Square compiles five episodes from Season 7...
* "Truth Or Square"
This hour-long 10th Anniversary episode
is set on the day of the Krusty Krab's Eleventy Seventh anniversary. However,
before the restaurant opens, Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob, Squidward, and Patrick manage
to get themselves trapped in the bowels of the building and have to find their
way out. As they crawl their way through pipes and vents, the characters have
"never-before-seen" flashbacks to earlier times. Meanwhile, breaking
up the animated storyline is a side-plot involving Patchy the Pirate trying to
organize a 10th Anniversary extravaganza television special for SpongeBob. A
bunch of celebrities make cameos during these intervals, including Rosario
Dawson (Seven Pounds), LeBron James, Tina Fey (Baby Mama), Will
Ferrell (Zoolander), Craig Ferguson (The Big Tease), Robin
Williams (Insomnia), and Pink.
Wow...This is without a doubt the lamest SpongeBob episode I have ever seen. It's pretty much all filler, extremely boring, the story goes nowhere, with little action or mania. In fact, nothing interesting happens at all. The Patchy interludes and reliance on cameos merely draws attention to the episode's lack of substance.
* "Porous Pockets"
SpongeBob inadvertently strikes it rich,
but a fool and his money are easily parted.
* "Choir Boys"
Squidward wants to audition for the Bikini
Bottom Men's Choir. Unfortunately, he tells SpongeBob about it. Non-hilarious
results ensue.
* "Krusty Krushers"
Mr. Krabs signs Patrick and SpongeBob
into a tag-team wrestling match with a $1 million prize. This is essentially a
poor remake of the Merrie Melodies wrestling episode "Bunny
Hugged" that featured Bugs Bunny battling The Crusher.
* "The Card"
SpongeBob spends everything he has trying to
get a special Mermaidman and Barnacleboy trading card, but is unsuccessful.
However, Patrick ends up with one and doesn't seem to value it as much as his
friend. Can SpongeBob convince Patrick to give him the card?
I've been harping about the decline of SpongeBob in my reviews of previous releases. However, without a doubt, the episodes here are the weakest I've seen. The show has lost not just its sense of humor, but the manic and hyperactive energy as well. Now it's simply tired and boring.
As is typical with SpongeBob releases, the full screen video is flawless, rich, and colourful. The stereo audio is clear and crisp.
There are two extras: "Behind-the-Scenes of the SpongeBob Opening" featurette which describes the creation of the special 3-dimensional opening sequence for "Truth or Square," and karaoke music videos for "We've Got Scurvy" (by Pink), "Campfire Sing Song," and "F.U.N."
That's all I've got to say. The End.
Guilty.
Review content copyright © 2009 Roy Hrab; Site layout and review format copyright © 1998 - 2012 HipClick Designs LLC
Scales of Justice
Judgment: 60
Perp Profile
Studio: Nickelodeon
Video Formats:
* Full Frame
Audio Formats:
* Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (English)
Subtitles:
* English (CC)
Running Time: 108 Minutes
Release Year: 2009
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distinguishing Marks
* Featurette
* Sing-Alongs
Accomplices
* IMDb
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0206512/combined
* Official Site
http://www.nick.com/shows/spongebob_squarepants/index.jhtml