This year marks the 10th Anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants, and Nickelodeon continues its ongoing celebrations with the release of a huge treat for fans of the iconic cartoon character who “lives in a pineapple under the sea”, the SpongeBob SquarePants: The First 100 Episodes DVD megaset. This treasure chest contains the entire first five seasons’ worth of episodes plus exclusive bonus features, and, as an added gift, there’s a pull-tab on the box that reveals a code to enter the Happy Squared Sweepstakes. The publicists at Nickelodeon splashily announced:
It’s the Best SpongeBob DVD Collection EVER!
38 Hours. 14 Discs. 1 Yellow Sponge.
You’ll be the envy of Bikini Bottom with the first 100 episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants.“Are you ready?!” for the spongetacular adventure, comedy and drama? Go ahead, backstroke through ten years of hilarity with “Help Wanted,” “SpongeBob’s House Party,” “Christmas Who?” and “Dunces and Dragons.” You’ll laugh and guffaw as you cruise through this massive DVD collection with SpongeBob, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Sandy, Squidward, and, yes, even Plankton.
Whether you’re a super-absorbent fan or just beginning to soak up the wonderful world of SpongeBob, these first 100 episodes are all you need to become an expert on Bikini Bottom and our most beloved sponge. It’s all here: “Ripped Pants,” “The Camping Episode,” “Goo Goo Gas,” “Atlantis SquarePantis” and much, much more!
Are you getting a nice squishy feeling inside? You know you are. That’s because a rising tide of Happy is lapping at the shores of your brain!
Wow. 100 episodes and a tidal wave of special features. Talk about going to your Happy Place!
SpongeBob SquarePants: The First 100 Episodes is a solid brick of a box set, its sturdy slipcase enclosed by a wrap-around sleeve that opens at the top and bottom. The sleeve’s wide edges have the title and logo printed on almost identical seascape art, so you can display either spine on your shelf depending on your character preference. Patrick joyfully chases a jellyfish with a butterfly net on one side, while Squidward cowardly runs from another pink, squishy blob on the opposite side. SpongeBob, of course, gets star placement on the front of the box, where the limited-edition lenticular panel pops him and his bubble-filled surroundings out of the cover in a trippy, 3D effect. The only thing that could have made the brightly coloured packaging more spectacular is if the set came with a little Gary the Snail toy to perch on top of the box.
Inside the box are seven slimline cases, the cheerful jacket art featuring close-up portraits of the series’ main characters: SpongeBob, Patrick, Gary, Squidward, Mr. Krabs, Sandy, and Plankton. The clear plastic cases house two discs each, with 7-8 episodes per disc and audio commentaries from the cast and crew on discs 11-13. Episodes are presented in their original fullscreen format and retain the crisp picture quality and Dolby Digital stereo sound of their initial television broadcast. The disc menus are unanimated, yet still attractively designed, and are accompanied by an instrumental version of the theme song. This simple, stripped-down approach makes the playlist extremely user-friendly, especially for small fry who want to put in a disc and just hit the “play all” button. The show’s credits are compiled as a separate selection, so when multiple episodes are played they flow seamlessly from one to the next without the interruption of scrolling text. Of course, the best thing about SpongeBob SquarePants: The First 100 Episodes is that there are 100 Episodes. It’ll be a long sea voyage before you run out of material to watch and need to start over at the beginning, by which time the episodes will seem fresh again. Next time you throw a Hawaiian-themed party, consider playing SpongeBob SquarePants: The First 100 Episodes in the background instead of a traditional Don Ho or ukele CD. Not only will the DVDs add some fun, luau-appropriate visuals to your gathering, your guests will never have to listen to the same track twice. A person can only hear the song “Tiny Bubbles” so many times without having a Squidward-style meltdown, after all.
The final disc in The First 100 Episodes set is dedicated to special features. Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePants is an insightful and trivia-filled look into the evolution of SpongeBob SquarePants that cuts together behind-the-scenes footage, media clips chronicling SpongeBob’s rise to fame, and infectiously enthusiastic interviews with series creator Stephen Hillenburg, the show’s creative team, and a host of devoted fans, many of them celebrities. The 43-minute documentary is also the only material in the box set to earn an advisory warning, though exactly why is unclear, unless a candid but fairly brief discussion of the SpongeBob/Patrick “gay controversary” could be viewed as offensive by some. Life Lessons from Bikini Bottom, a featurette done in the style of a 1950s educational film, explores the distinctive personalities and worldviews of the characters who inhabit Bikini Bottom, and “Help Wanted”: The Seven Seas Edition is an audio remix of the pilot episode that samples SpongeBob SquarePants‘s many international translations. The energetic Kick-Wham-Pow-Bob Music Video is basically a clip-reel set to the heavy metal beat of Pantera.
A must-have DVD set for cartoon afficionados of all ages, SpongeBob SquarePants: The First 100 Episodes is a bargain for longtime fans who have yet to buy the individual seasons, and serves as an immersive introduction for those new to the classic series. (For the complete SpongeBob experience, be sure to add a copy of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, which isn’t included in the box set.) So, grab a Krabby Patty, pull on your squarest pair of pants, and prepare to dive deep into the world of SpongeBob SquarePants!
Order now at Amazon.com:
SpongeBob SquarePants: The First 100 Episodes
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
SpongeBob SquarePants is distributed by Nickelodeon, a subsidiary of Paramount Home Entertainment. For more information, please visit the official SpongeBob SquarePants website.