Featured TV on DVD Review: SpongeBob SquarePants: Runaway Roadtrip

September 19, 2011

SpongeBob SquarePants: Runaway Roadtrip - Buy from Amazon

It's a busy week for SpongeBob SquarePants, with the latest DVD release, Runaway Roadtrip, coming out in the States, plus two previous DVDs, SpongeBob vs. The Big One and Truth or Square, are being re-released in Canada on French Bilingual DVDs. Are any of these worth picking up?

The Show

  1. A SquarePants Family Vacation
    SpongeBob sends postcards to all his friends about the awesome party he's having, but it's all a lie. He's got slides from his family vacation. Fortunately, we don't have to watch the slides, but instead see the vacation he and Patrick took with SpongeBob's parents. Their plan is to go to the Great Barrier Reef, but when the car breaks down, SpongeBob and Patrick wander off and get lost.
    This is a double-length episode and has plenty of adventure and humor, but perhaps lasts a little bit too long. Some of the jokes are stretched a little thin. Overall it's a good episode, but not a classic.
  2. Patrick's Staycation
    It's Patick's turn to show off his vacation slides, but after breaking the slide projector, he tells the story of his vacation through shadow puppets instead. Again, we just see the flash back. With no money, Patrick decides to have a Staycation with SpongeBob acting as concierge, bellhop, lifeguard, waiter, chef, and more. Turns out Patrick is a tough costumer.
    This episode doesn't quite have the same energy as the previous one, but it ends strong.
  3. Walking the Plankton
    Next up is Plankton, who tells the story of his second honeymoon, which of course was just an excuse to follow Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob on vacation. Plankton figured that stealing the secret formula while Mr. Krabs was away would be easy, but Mr. Krabs decided to take the formula with him. But will he he be able to work on getting the formula while keeping his wife, Karen, in the dark? Of course not.
    It's a twist on a common theme from the show, but for the most part, the second honeymoon part of the story is ignored. (Much of it takes place while Karen is asleep.)
  4. Mooncation
    Sandy's turn to go on vacation, and she's heading to the moon. Unfortunately for her, SpongeBob accidentally gets trapped in the rocket and goes with her. How quickly can SpongeBob screw up the trip? Almost immediately.
    The perils of space flight was a lot more interesting than what actually happens on the moon, but it is still a pretty good episode overall.
  5. Mr. Krabs Takes a Vacation
    Mr. Krabs is on vacation again, this time with his daughter, Pearl. However, he invites SpongeBob along, for a small fee, much to the dismay of Pearl. Her hopes for the vacation crumble even more when she finds out where her father is taking them: The Bikini Bottom Mint.
    An amusing episode with Mr. Krabs being the crazy uncontrollable one and SpongeBob having to be the voice of reasons.
  6. Hide and Then What Happens?
    SpongeBob wants to play Hide and Seek with Patrick, but first he has to explain the rules to Patrick. When it's Patrick's turn to hide, SpongeBob has real trouble finding him and begins to scour all of Bikini Bottom and travels to the end of the world. Literally.
    This episode is a little repetitive with SpongeBob having to explain the rules of hide and seek over and over again, and then spending a lot of time just looking around Bikini Bottom. But it is still entertaining enough to be worth watching.
  7. Shellback Shenanigans
    It's bring your pet to work day at the Krusty Krab, and Plankton uses this as a way in. All he has to do is disguise himself as Gary. Amazingly, he's not able to pull of the disguise. He fools SpongeBob, but that's not hard to do. However, while SpongeBob doesn't realize it's not Gary, he thinks Gary is sick and so Plankton is sent to the pet hospital.
    This was a very funny episode with many great bits, including a throwaway gag involving the heart monitor at the hospital. Arguably the best episode on the DVD.

The Extras

Technically the last two episodes are special features.

The Verdict

There are four episodes worth of shorts on SpongeBob SquarePants: Runaway Roadtrip and there are no duds among them. There are also no instant classics and no extras, outside the bonus shorts, which I included in the four episode count. It's a good deal, but not a great one, and unless you really want to see these episodes right away, waiting for the full season set might be the better plan.

Also coming out this week are SpongeBob vs. The Big One and Truth or Square with optional French-language track. I previously reviewed both DVDs when they came out and I think Truth or Square is the better deal when it comes to the French-language re-release for a couple reasons. Firstly, I liked it better, but I also like Patchy the Pirate more than most people. Secondly, the big draw for SpongeBob vs. The Big One is the guest appearance of Johnny Depp, so that's lost in translation, literally. One last note, Truth or Square is not being sold directly through Amazon.ca at the moment, but I assume that will be fixed shortly. When it is fixed, the price should be more inline with previous releases and not close to $30 as it is right now.


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