Featured TV on DVD Review: SpongeBob SquarePants: Legends of Bikini Bottom

November 13, 2010

SpongeBob SquarePants: Legends of Bikini Bottom - Buy from Amazon

The latest SpongeBob SquarePants DVD release is a single-disc featuring just three episodes / six shorts. This is less than previous releases, so what gives? Why would anyone be interested in paying for less? It's because these episodes haven't aired on TV yet. ... Now I'm intrigued.

The Show

  1. The Monster Who Came to Bikini Bottom
    Patrick accidentally releases toxic waste that had been sitting on the bottom of the ocean, which causes a cluster of barnacles to mutate into a hideous monster, a hideous monster that immediately becomes Patrick's friend. He's really good at games like hide and seek, but he's even better throwing the house.
  2. Welcome to the Bikini Bottom Triangle
    SpongeBob wakes up to find he alarm clock missing, while Squidward's clarinet and Patrick's cufflinks are also gone. Is there's a cat burglar loose? Or is it the effects of the mysterious Bikini Bottom Triangle.
  3. The Main Drain
    SpongeBob notices the sink is overflowing at the Krusty Krab, but when he tries to pull the plug, Mr. Krabs has some weird PTSD flashback about The Main Drain, a drain at the bottom of the ocean that was once pulled out and drained the whole ocean. SpongeBob and Patrick immediately set out to find it, you know, to protect it from morons like themselves.
  4. Trenchbillies
    While out jellyfishing, SpongeBob and Patrick fall into a trench and meet Trenchbillies, i.e., hillbilly fish. (And yes, there's a Deliverance reference.) They have to prove they are worthy of joining the clan, or suffer the consequences.
  5. Sponge-Cano
    A volcano is threatening to destroy Bikini Bottom, having already taken out the Krusty Krab (or at least the cash register). A mysterious dolphin appears and tells them the only way to stop it is to sacrifice the most miserable person in Bikini Bottom. Squidward is not going to like this.
  6. The Curse of the Hex
    An elderly lamprey comes into the Krusty Krab after closing time and tries to order, but when she doesn't have enough money, Mr. Krabs throws her out. Then when SpongeBob tries to sneak a burger to her, Mr. Krab intervenes. As a result, she puts a curse on the Krusty Krab that causes all the customers to stay away. Now it is up to Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob to reverse the curse.

The Extras

The only real extra on the DVD is a five-minute behind-the-scenes look at the making of SpongeBob. There's a short look at the table read, the recording session, etc. It's better than the extras on most similar DVD releases, but not exactly in-depth either. There are also two 30-second commercials and a minute-long promo.

The Verdict

Bad news: There are only six 11-minute long shorts on the SpongeBob SquarePants: Legends of Bikini Bottom DVD. Good news: All of them are funny. Usually I'm happy if five of the eight episodes on the single-disc releases are hits, so to go six for six is amazing. On the other hand, the price-per-minute is about three times what it is for the upcoming Season Six, Volume 2 release, which is too much to pay for unless you are a completist. I would call it a very, very solid rental, but wait for the season set to buy.


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