SpongeBob loses all his Squarepants and more in this latest compilation from Season’s 6-7.

The Lowdown

SpongeBob Squarepants “To Squarepants or Not to Squarepants” presents us with eight ten minute shorts from seasons six and seven of the show. They range from the very funny to the bland and boring and I’ll just take a look at each cartoon on the disc, one by one.

To Squarepants or Not to Squarepants is the “feature presentation” on the DVD, the newest episode (7/17/09) on the disc and presents the interesting conundrum of what would happen if SpongeBob had no Squarepants. The cartoon doesn’t stay too long with SpongeBob trying to adapt to this new look but instead veers in the uninteresting direction of him believing no one recognizes him. Of course, only Patrick doesn’t recognize him but when Sandy says he must be SpongeBob RoundPants, he doesn’t get the joke and believes he must start anew. The cartoon then turns into the basic SpongeBob is a bad worker situation we have seen many times before.

Squid’s Visit is another episode from Season 7 and is a very funny, strange addition to the DVD. SpongeBob wants Squidward to come visit him so much that he recreates his house as an exact replica of his neighbors, all the way down to the cracks in the wallpaper. The obsession is very creepy and eventually drives Squidward insane. The way the short was shot, from the close-ups on Squidward to the eventual withdrawing into his own insanity was done extremely well.

The Splinter takes us back to Season 6 and shows SpongeBob getting a splinter and trying to remove it before Mr. Krabs finds out and sends him home from his beloved job early. The setup and joke was “been there, done that” but the gross out gags are well worth the effort. The disgusting set pieces make this an instant classic from the simple idea of the pain of the splinter all the way up to the finale where he finally gets it out producing a flood of green pus. This is the kind of disgusting gross-out cartoon I remember loving as a kid.

Slide Whistle Stooges takes us back to Season 7 for a little inventive episode that goes in a direction that surprised me. It starts with SpongeBob and Patrick driving Squidward crazy by continuously playing the slide whistle. Then it takes an unexpected turn when Squidward tries it and turns out to be quite good. He can seem to control the movements of other people and inanimate objects with his playing. When he eventually drives the townspeople crazy it turns into a nice homage to classic horror movies such as Frankenstein as he is hunted down to be destroyed. It is a unique, interesting premise made good through its twists and turns.

Boating Buddies is a typical SpongeBob drives Squidward crazy episode as he wants to be Boating Buddies but, as usual, Squidward wants nothing to do with it. Unfortunately, Squidward, when trying to escape SpongeBob’s advances, ends up getting a ticket and having to go to a defensive driving sort of boating school. It is a perfect episode when dealing with SpongeBob’s increasing obsessive behavior and he becomes more and more creepy as the year’s go on. The rest of the episode is decent, but not great.

The Krabby Kronicle is a disappointing addition to the DVD. The idea is interesting, SpongeBob becomes a reporter for Mr. Krabs’ new newspaper and is told to get “attention grabbing” headlines, whether they are true or not. Thanks to these stories, SpongeBob ruins the lives of many people but, justifiably, it is Mr. Krabs who bears the brunt of the town’s anger. There are some funny moments but it is just travels from one setup to the next.

The Slumber Party continues with an uninteresting storyline of Mr. Krabs’ daughter wanting to have a slumber party and locking her dad out of the house so he won’t be able to mess things up. It is a parody of old slasher movies as the girls, all annoying brats, watch a horror movie about a slumber party killer while SpongeBob is given the orders to infiltrate the party to make sure nothing gets broken. Of course, SpongeBob becomes mistaken as the killer. There is one very funny moment where a girl that looks like SpongeBob in drag is rudely turned away from the party only to run off in tears and pass the real SpongeBob approaching the house.

Grooming Gary is the final episode on the DVD and takes a look at pet shows and the ridiculous amounts of overindulgence on the pets by their overly obsessive owners. SpongeBob is swept into the obsession as well with Gary and when Gary becomes tired of the ridiculous pandering he starts a Pet Riot where all the pets in the show turn on their owners. It was an average episode but seeing Gary with an extended role makes it all worth it. There were more good episodes than bad on the DVD but I don’t understand why they release scattered episode DVDs when they are eventually available in the full season formats as well, for not much more of a price. Of course, it is to make more money but for kid’s movies that is kind of raping the pocketbooks of the parents. It’s worth getting for your kids but it also might be worth waiting until it is out in the season sets.

The Package

There is some art and storyboards but that is all you can expect out of this DVD in the way of extras.