TV Show Info
TV Show Name: It’s a SpongeBob Christmas!
Studio: United Plankton Pictures
Genre(s): Animated/Comedy/Seasonal
Release Date(s): November 23, 2012
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Yippie! Fruit Cake!
It is Christmas, and SpongeBob is ready for Santa Claus to arrive. Plankton is dreading the holiday but has a plan to get SpongeBob and all the inhabitants of Bikini Bottom on Santa’s naughty list and land himself the recipe for Krabby Patties. With fruit cakes infused with jerktonium and a robot SpongeBob, Plankton’s plans might come to fruition. Now, it is up to Santa to decide who is naughty and who is nice.
Directed by Mark Caballero and Seamus Walsh, It’s a SpongeBob Christmas! was released on DVD but first aired on November 23, 2012 on CBS. The holiday special changed the style of the standard SpongeBob SquarePants art and went for Claymation art.
Torch it!
I like the Claymation throwback art. This is a popular trend among holiday specials due to the continued nostalgia of the classic specials like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Saturday Night Live, Elf, and even A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas have paid homage to the classic holiday style, so it is only fitting that SpongeBob also honor the classics. I like that they even have Patchy the Pirate filling in as the mail delivery man as a homage Special Delivery “S.D.” Kluger from the classic Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.
Santa, don’t you love me?!?
Seeing SpongeBob in claymation does add even more charm to his character. A live-action SpongeBob would be a bad idea so this is as close as you can get since Claymation often feels more “real” than 3D CGI to me.
Story-wise, It’s a SpongeBob Christmas! is pretty standard SpongeBob style. The jokes and humor are in the same vein as the cartoon so fans of the show will enjoy it, but for people who don’t like SpongBob Squarepants, it will probably feel like more of the same.
It’s a SpongeBob Christmas! is a welcomed edition to the holiday series and the SpongeBob world. It is a solid addition to all the Christmas holiday specials. Check out SpongeBob and have a Merry Christmas…just don’t eat the fruitcake.
Related Links:
SpongeBob SquarePants—Season 1 Review and Complete Episode Guide
