SpongeBob SquarePants-Tales from the Deep (2003)

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General		Extras
Category	Animation	Main Menu Audio & Animation Credits
Rating
Year Of Production	2003
Running Time	114:08 (Case: 118)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Sherm Cohen Walt Dohrn C.H. Greenblatt Sam Henderson
Studio Distributor	Paramount Home Entertainment	Starring	Tom Kenny Rodger Bumpass Bill Fagerbakke Carolyn Lawrence Clancy Brown Mr. Lawrence Lori Alan Jill Talley Mary Jo Catlett Carlos Alazraqui Brian Doyle-Murray Dee Bradley Baker Ernest Borgnine
Case	?
RPI	$19.95	Music	The Blue Hawaiians Bradley Carow Eban Schletter

    I saw an episode of Spongebob Squarepants on pay TV and thought it was pretty funny in a childish sort of way, so I decided to give this disc a whirl. The series debuted on US cable network Nickelodeon in 1999 and quickly became a big hit. So far there have been approximately 60 episodes produced and a motion picture is in the works (now there's a surprise).

    If you have not come across this show before, it is a animated series aimed at children, probably the 5 - 12 age group although it does have much wider appeal. The series is set under the sea in a town called Bikini Bottom and the major characters are:

• Spongebob Squarepants - A square shaped sponge who wears pants, in a major surprise. He is a bit dim, annoying to friends and enemies alike but has a heart of gold. He works at the local crab burger bar.
• Patrick - A even dimmer starfish who also happens to be Spongebob's best friend.
• Sandy - A female squirrel who lives in an undersea treedome. She is Bob's love interest and also a karate expert.
• Squidward - Spongebob's workmate. He is a squid and finds Spongebob more annoying than the others do.
• Gary - Spongebob's pet snail.

    This disc contains 9 episodes in total, 8 of which are good to excellent, and one of which is complete rubbish. Unfortunately the rubbish one is the first one. The episodes come from very early in the series right up until Sep 2003. In detail the episodes are:

• House Party (21:79) - For some reason the producers decided to really spoil this episode by interspersing Spongebob with a really annoying live action pirate and his party. When this was the first episode played, I thought I had made a terrible mistake in choosing to review this disc. Take my advice and avoid. Strangely, 43 seconds into this track, the clock jumps ahead to 23:04. The section is between is not accessible even by asking to go to a specific time.
• Hall Monitor (10:36) - A very funny episode from the first series. Spongebob is made Hall Monitor by his teacher and gets a little too excited about it.
• I Had An Accident (10:55) - This is the newest episode on the disc and involves Spongebob having an accident and breaking his butt. This episode is a little violent so might upset the very young.
• Valentine's Day (10:36) - A funny episode from the first series in which Spongebob has difficulty getting Patrick's present to him.
• Just One Bite (9:57) - Another good episode featuring Spongebob trying to get his workmate, Squidward to eat a Krabby Pattie.
• Mermaidman & Barnacle Boy (10:34) - Spongebob gets to meet his favourite cartoon characters. This is the first of a series of episodes featuring these characters.
• Tea at the Treedome (10:36) - A very early episode which introduces Sandy, the squirrel.
• The Paper (10:51) - An extremely funny episode from the first series. Spongebob finds a piece of paper and spends the rest of the day annoying Squidward with it.
• Born Again Krabs (11:03) - A very recent episode in which Spongebob finds a very old Krabby Pattie under the grill and his boss wants him to use it anyway, with amusing results. This episode might be a bit scary for younger children.

    Overall, this is a bit of a mixed bag, some very funny episodes and at least one I would not inflict on my worst enemy.

Video

    The video quality is excellent.

    The feature is presented in a 1.29:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio.

    The picture is very clear and sharp throughout, with no evidence of low level noise. The colour was excellent and there were no noticeable artefacts.

    There are no subtitles.

    This is a dual layered disc, however the layer change must fall between episodes.
    

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is perfectly fine for the show.

    This DVD contains four audio options; an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack encoded at 192 Kb/s and the same in Spanish, French & Dutch.

    Dialogue was clear and easy to understand.    

    The surround speakers & subwoofer were not used at all.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu included an episode selection function and the ability to watch 6:41 minutes of credits for each episode strung together.

    This disc includes the same episodes in Region 1, however also includes a music video, storyboards and a featurette.

    The video quality is excellent.

    The audio quality is fine.

    The disc has no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall