How do you create excitement about a Christmas Special after you’ve already produced two of them? You have to give the folks something extra. SpongeBob SquarePants captured the holiday spirit in It’s a SpongeBob Christmas! with an extra dimension. The animated cartoon gets transformed into the 3-D world of stop motion models. The yellow sponge becomes part of the Rankin-Bass magic like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer except a little more twisted.
The holiday episode immediately references Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town with Pete the Pirate tooling around in a truck instead of Fred Astaire. Pete’s not as good of a driver, but the story starts anyhow. SpongeBob and friends are getting ready for the arrival of Santa Claus. Plankton has major plans since he’s going to ruin Christmas by infecting everyone with Jerktonium. When everyone gets on the naughty list, Plankton will get all the presents. He uses fruitcake as the perfect way to infect unsuspecting masses with Jerktonium. He fools SpongeBob into distributing the toxic treat. Who can refuse fruitcake from him? Plankton builds a robotic SpongeBob to cause more havoc in Bikini Bottom. This is a tricky tip of the hat to when Rankin-Bass produced King Kong Escapes with Toho. Can Plankton steal Christmas, the secret of the Krabby Patty and SpongeBob’s sweet disposition? He’s just diabolical enough to get his holiday dreams.
This special might be a little too much for wee kids. There’s a song about not being a jerk at Christmas that could upset grandma. Santa (John Goodman) isn’t too jolly when he arrives in Bikini Bottom. Bigger kids will enjoy this a little bit more. It’s a SpongeBob Christmas! mixes well with a chilly evening of Rankin-Bass magic.
The video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The high definition transfer really brings out the details in the stop motion figures and the models used for familiar locations. The audio is 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio which brings out the depth of the musical numbers. There’s also French and Spanish 2.0 Stereo Dubs. The special is subtitled.
DVD is the original release from last year. The bonus features include Behind the Scenes Feature, the Animatic, Yule Log and the MP3s.
Digital Versions include a download copy and access the stream on Ultraviolet.
Animatic (24:25) are the storyboard sketches that set up the action. They include the finished video so you can match up what it takes to make SpongeBob go into motion.
Yule Log (1:00) is fireplace fun from SpongeBob’s living room. It goes on a loop so be careful you don’t fall asleep and dream the holiday music for 8 hours.
MP3s are provided for “Santa’s Eye” and “Hot Fruitcake.”
Behind the Scenes Feature (7:20) is amazing as the crew does their best to not say Rankin-Bass. They explain the developments in stop-motion animation in the digital age.
Bonus Episodes has 10 more Sponge-tastic tales including “Ripped Pants,” “SB-129,” “Texas,” “The Graveyard Shift,” “Something Smells,” “Jellyfishing,’ “Dying For Pie,” “Wormy,” “F.U.N.” and “Club Spongebob.” These are only featured in standard definition. Although the image looks better than the DVD releases of the same titles.
Violent Femmes Sing SpongeBob SquarePants (0:35) is a quickie performance from the guys that gave us “Blister In the Sun.” It’s standard definition.
More SongeBob SquarePants Secrets include SpongeBob’s Start, Voice Overs, Drawing Characters, “The Graveyard Shift”: In the Beginning and Show Design. This gives a nice insight into the creation of the show and what it takes to keep it going. They take you into the audio booth. They are very dramatic around the microphone.
It’s A SpongeBob Christmas! is a fine addition to your holiday video rotation. The mix of songs, evil fruitcakes and a destructive robot will cheer up any Christmas party.
Nickelodeon and Paramount present It’s A SpongeBob Christmas!. Starring: Tom Kenny, Clancy Brown and John Goodman. Running time: 24 minutes. Released: October 15, 2013.
