Featured TV on DVD Review: SpongeBob SquarePants: Holidays With SpongeBob

November 15, 2011

SpongeBob SquarePants: Holidays With SpongeBob - Buy from Amazon

We are closing in on Thanksgiving, so what better time is there to release a SpongeBob SquarePants DVD that includes Halloween episodes. At this point, I'm 93% sure they are doing this just to mess with my mind. "Let's release Christmas DVDs starting in August and then, the minute it is November, release Halloween DVDs." "Yes, that's sure to make his head explode!" Granted, Holidays With SpongeBob also contains a Christmas DVD and a Valentine's Day DVD, but the timing is weird. Also coming out recently was Tales from the Deep, the French-Bilingual edition.

Holidays With SpongeBob

The three-disc set includes...

  1. Christmas


    This disc originally came out in 2003, which was before I started doing reviews. The episodes on this DVD start with...

    1. Christmas Who?
      The disc starts with a double-length special that tells the story of how SpongeBob learnt about Christmas. No one in Bikini Bottom had any idea what Christmas is till Sandy Cheeks explains the holiday to SpongeBob. Soon he has everyone in town asking Santa for gifts. At first Squidward makes fun of him, but will the Christmas spirit get to Squidward?
    2. Procrastination
      SpongeBob has to write an 800 word essay about what not to do at a stop light. As you can tell from the title of the short, he has trouble getting to work.
    3. Snowball Effect
      An iceberg floats over Bikini Bottom and causes a blanket of snow to fall. SpongeBob and Patrick decide to have a snowball fight and it immediately gets out of hand and it isn't long before Squidward is drawn into the fight.
    4. Survival of the Idiots
      Sandy has gone into hibernation and left explicit instructions that SpongeBob and Patrick are not to come into her home. Guess how long it takes before they break that rule?
    5. Mermaidman and Barnacleboy IV
      Mermaidman or Barnacleboy come into the Krabby Patty, but when they see SpongeBob they run away. But when they do, they accidentally leave Mermaidman's belt and SpongeBob finds it, and accidentally uses the shrink ray. This will end poorly.
    6. Chocolates with Nuts
      SpongeBob and Patrick want to become rich, so they decide to sell chocolate bars door-to-door. They have a hard time selling any chocolate to anyone, til they discover the secret. Lying!
    7. As Seen on TV
      Mr. Krabs wants to make a commercial for The Krusty Krabs and SpongeBob gets to be in it. When he thinks people recognize him from the commercial, it goes to his head.
    8. Pizza Delivery
      When someone calls the Krusty Krab, after closing, ordering a pizza, Mr. Krabs gets Squidward and SpongeBob to deliver the first ever Krusty Krab pizza. When Squidward gets SpongeBob to drive, things end in disaster and they are stranded in the middle of nowhere.
    9. Squeaky Boots
      When Mr. Krabs gets his daughter the wrong pair of boots for her birthday, he sells them to SpongeBob. The squeaky noise the boots make drives Squidward crazy, but Mr. Krabs loves it, because it's the sound of money. However, that night he hears that noise everywhere. Could it be guilt?

    The Extras

    The Christmas Who? episode has a commentary track and storyboards. Technically half the episodes are extras, so you have to watch them individually and not with the Play All button. I don't know why they would do this, but it adds to my, "Make his head explode" conspiracy.

  2. Halloween!


    This disc first came out in 2002, nearly a decade ago. The episodes on this DVD start with...

    1. Scardy Pants
      It's Halloween and SpongeBob is tired of being scared of everything. He decides it's time for him to be the scary one, so he dresses as the Flying Dutchman. It doesn't work out quite as he intended.
    2. Imitation Krabs
      Plankton tries to steal the recipe for the umpteenth time by using a fish disguise and fails, again. He tries again, this time disguised as Mr. Krabs. Is this the plan that will finally work?
    3. Frankendoodle
      An artist working on his latest creation while on a dinghy, while floating over Bikini Bottom, drops his pencil. It lands right next to SpongeBob and Patrick, the pair start drawing and whatever they draw comes to life. When SpongeBob draws a copy of SpongeBob... and it turns evil. (Or at the very least, very annoying.)
    4. I was a Teenage Gary
      Squidward agrees to take care of Gary while SpongeBob and Patrick go away for the weekend. But when Squidward fails in his duty as a snail-sitter and Gary gets sick, he agrees to help him get better.
    5. Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost
      Squidward makes a wax model of himself, Patrick and SpongeBob "kill" him. When they see the real Squidward again, they assume he's a ghost coming back for revenge, so they offer to do anything they can for his forgiveness.
    6. The Secret Box
      Patrick has a box, a secret box. No one is allowed to see it, not even SpongeBob. This drives SpongeBob to the point of insanity. Wait a minute... Didn't I review this episode? And the last one as well. Yes I did. And I'm sure I've reviewed the rest as well, but I can't find the link.
    7. Band Geeks
      Squidward bluffs his way into a gig, but he needs a band first. He recruits practically every person in Bikini Bottom to be in his band, but none of them have played an instrument. (Assuming you don't count mayonnaise as a instrument.) He has to whip them into shape, but will his taskmaster schedule result in instant talent or just drive them away.
    8. Welcome to the Chum Bucket
      Mr. Krabs goes to his weekly card game with Plankton... but for the first time in 15 years he loses. And he lost SpongeBob. Is this checkmate for Plankton? Or is working with SpongeBob not worth it. Squidward knows the answer to that.
    9. My Pretty Seahorse
      It's Spring and SpongeBob is trying to plant some flowers, but a wild seahorse keeps eating them. SpongeBob is determined to tame her. But SpongeBob needs to keep her at the Krusty Krab during work, but Mr. Krabs gives him an ultimatum: The horse has to go, or SpongeBob does.
    10. Idiot Box
      Patrick and SpongeBob order the largest TV they could find, just so they could play in the box. Squidward asks for the TV, but when he hears SpongeBob and Patrick have so much fun in the box, he asks to join them.

    The Extras

    There's a music video.

  3. To Love a Patty


    This disc first came out in 2008 and I'm sure I've seen it, nearly a decade ago. The episodes on this DVD start with...

    1. To Love a Patty
      SpongeBob makes the perfect Krabby Patty, and falls in love with it. ... Okay. This episode is weird even for SpongeBob.
    2. A Flea in Her Dome
      Sandy was gone on vacation, but when she gets back, there's sometime a little wrong with her. She has fleas! And they are breeding like crazy.
    3. Mermaidman vs. SpongeBob
      Plankton brainwashes Mermaidman and Barnacleboy and uses them to attack the Krusty Krab. But SpongeBob knows just what will cure them, a Krabby Patty.
    4. Le Big Switch
      Krusty Krab enters an exchange program. He gets a fancy French chef, while SpongeBob goes to a French restaurant. It's a good culture-clash episode.
    5. The Donut of Shame
      After SpongeBob and Patrick party really hard, SpongeBob passes out with the most perfect donut and Patrick steals it. Oh the guilt. It starts to eat him alive.
    6. Blackjack
      SpongeBob's cousin Blackjack is getting out of prison and wants to meet SpongeBob at his parents' place. SpongeBob has to get there to save them, but first he tries to get his uncle to help.
    7. Blackened Sponge
      SpongeBob's morning routine is a little more violent than usual and he gives himself a black eye trying to brush his teeth. He's so embarrassed that he lies about how it happened. But his story keeps changing every time he tells.

    The Extras

    There is an animatic for the first episode and a music video.

The Verdict

The first two DVDs found in SpongeBob SquarePants: Holidays With SpongeBob have a number of excellent episodes. The third one is more hit and miss. All three have also be previously released separately, as part of season sets and as part of a box set, so it's really only worth it if all three are new to you.

Tales from the Deep

The French-Bilingual version of a DVD that was originally released in 2003. The shorts found here start with...

  1. House Party
    A double-length special with Patchy the Pirate throwing a party to celebrate the release of the new SpongeBob short. Since it's a party organized by Patchy, you know there will be problems.
  2. Hall Monitor
    SpongeBob is continuing his Drivers Ed classes and it's his turn to be Hall Monitor. This is something Mrs. Poppy Puff fears more than anything else, but she can't put it off any longer. It turns out her fears were unwarranted, as he spends the entire class giving a speech about the importance of being a hall monitor and can't screw up. He's so depressed that he didn't get to do anything that Mrs. Puff allows him to wear the uniform til class starts tomorrow. What's the worse that could happen?
  3. I Had an Accident
    SpongBob, Patrick and Sandy are sand sledding and SpongeBob has a terrible accident and broke his bottom. He makes a full recovery, but the doctor warns him to be more careful in the future. But you know SpongeBob. He takes his doctor's advice to the extreme.
  4. Valentine's Day
    It's Valentine's Day and SpongeBob is spreading as much love as he can. He plans a super special gift for Patrick, but when the gift is delayed, he has to stall for time. How long can he fool Patrick?
  5. Just One Bite
    When SpongeBob learns Squidward has never had a Krabby Patty, SpongeBob forces him to try one, and ...
  6. Mermaidman and Barnacleboy
    After watching an episode of Mermaidman and Barnacleboy, they pretend to be the super hero pair, with Squidward playing the unwitting super villain. When Squidward tells them the real Mermaidman and Barnacleboy live in a nearby retirement home, the pair try to get them to come out of retirement.
  7. Tea at the Treedome
    SpongeBob meets Sandy Cheeks for the first time and she invites him to her Treedome. However, because she's a squirrel, her home is full of air, and sponges can't live in air.
  8. The Paper
    After Squidward throws away a bubblegum wrapper, SpongeBob picks it up and has a lot of fun with it. He has so much fun that it begins to drive Squidward nuts.
  9. Born Again Krabs
    When SpongeBob finds an old patty under the grill, a very old patty, Mr. Krabs forces him to sell it anyway. This drives away all of the costumers. Mr. Krabs eats it just to prove it is safe to eat. It wasn't. Now he has to deal with The Flying Dutchman.

The Extras

Extras include a music video, storyboard for House Party and a two-minute featurette on the background artist.

The Verdict

Almost all of the episodes on this DVD are very good and the one or two weak points are still better than average. If you are interested in a French-Bilingual DVD, Tales from the Deep is worth grabbing.


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