SpongeBob ScaredyPants by Gord Lacey (All reviews)
9/02/2002
"SpongeBob SquarePants" premiered on Nickelodeon in July of 1999. The creation of a marine-biology teacher, "SpongeBob SquarePants" is the story of a likable, rather naive sponge living in Bikini Bottom with his friends. SpongeBob is a cook at "The Krusty Krab" where he works with his neighbor, and sometime-friend, Squidward the squid. Patrick, the starfish, and Sandy the squirrel join SpongeBob in his many adventures. "SpongeBob SquarePants" attracts 10 million kids between 2 and 11 each week, making it the most popular cartoon for that age group.
After watching the first DVD (Nautical Nonsense) I had a few problems with the habitat SpongeBob lived in. He surfed and had fire, yet he lived under the sea. After watching the second DVD I still haven't figured out how that's possible, but I'm learning to accept it. See what happens when you have an adult watch a kids show!
This is another solid Nickelodeon release.
Video
I mentioned that some of the episodes on the first SpongeBob release looked like there was grain present. Not so with this one. With the exception of a minor video glitch approx 2:50 into the first episode (Scaredy Pants), the video is great. When I watch cartoons I'm looking for a nice, bright picture and I expect the colors to be solid and vibrant. This release gave me exactly what I was looking for, and it'll get close to top marks because of it. Some of the non-animated footage appeared to have a bit of grain, but it's forgivable. The "Play All" feature is present in this release, as well as episode selections.
Audio
In my review of the first SpongeBob disc I complained that the audio track didn't make use of the Surround capabilities and said it would have been much better as a stereo track. Looks like someone was listening, because we have a stereo track on this release, and I have no complaints. It sounds like the broadcast version of the show, if not a little cleaner. There are some nice directional effects used in these episodes (I'm a sucker for directional audio).
I had a problem with the extras found on the first disc. Most of the material was backstage or production footage which, I think, would appeal to adults more-so than children. The problem was the bubble that the footage appeared in. It was this horrible-looking thing that cropped the picture and could only be tolerated by a child. Thankfully Nickelodeon hasn't repeated the "bubble incident", although there are noticeably fewer special features on this disc.
SpongeBob ScaredyPants Music Video (0:58)
A short "video" featuring clips from the various episodes found on the disc. I found the quality of this to be a little poor.
SpongeBob SquarePants Videogame Sneak Peak (0:46)
A quick look at the upcoming SpongeBob video game.
Credits (7:41)
I expected this to be a single screen of credits the disc, but instead it's the credits that would appear at the end of each episode. Not very interesting, but it's nice that they included this, and didn't try to pull it off as an extra on the packaging.
Summary
I must say that the cover for this DVD is a little misleading. In rather large text it says "5 spooky sea tales", with "PLUS 5 Bubblin' Bonus Episodes" in much smaller text a little higher. If I was trying to market this DVD there's no way I'd want "5" in large text when the disc holds 10 episodes. Why advertise a smaller number in large text? Totally bizarre if you ask me.
I wonder if this DVD was pushed up from an October release? It seems odd to have a Halloween-themed DVD coming out in the summer, but I enjoyed the material on the DVD never-the-less. I love having an excuse to sit down and watch a cartoon. I can hardly wait for the upcoming "Rugrats" DVD from Nickelodeon, and David Lambert will be reviewing the "Nick Jr. Holiday" DVD released later this month. It's a good time to be a cartoon fan.
