SpongeBob SquarePants: Ghouls Fools (a J!-ENT Children’s DVD Review)

August 10, 2012 by Dennis Amith 

Halloween is around the corner and what best to enjoy ghouls and ghosts than to watch these hilarious episodes of “SpongeBob SquarePants: Ghouls Fools”!  Join SpongeBob and Patrick as they get caught up in adventures with Bikini Bottom’s infamous ghost, the Flying Dutchman.  For fans of “SpongeBob SquarePants” or the young at heart, “Ghouls Fools” is recommended!

Images courtesy of © 2012 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved.

DVD TITLE: SpongeBob SquarePants: Ghouls Fools

DURATION: 88 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Full Screen, Dolby Digital – English Stereo

COMPANY: Paramount Home Entertainment/Nickelodeon

RATED: NOT RATED

RELEASE DATE: August 28, 2012

Created by Stephen Hillenburg

Written by Stephen Hillenburg, Derek Drymon, Paul Tibbit, Richard Pursel, Dani Michaeli, Casey Alexander, Luke Brookshier, Zeus Cervas, Nate Cash

Featuring the voices of:

Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants

Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick Star

Rodger Bumpass as Squidward Tentacles

Clancy Brown as Mr. eugene H. Krabs

Mr. Lawrence as Plankton

Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy Cheeks

Sirena Irwin as Lady Fish

Take a hauntingly hilarious dive into Bikini Bottom and sing along to some ghostly good tunes from the double-length episode, Ghoul Fools! Plus, go on a treasure hunt, learn to tie a whole boatload of nifty knots, and board the ship of the most inept ghost ever to try and haunt the Seven Seas, the Flying Dutchman himself. It’s a collection of episodes so good, it’s scary!

With Halloween around the corner, it’s time again for a new “SpongeBob SquarePants” Halloween-themed DVD release!

Featuring the double-lengthed “Ghouls Fools” episode, “SpongeBob SquarePants: Ghouls Fools” comes with six more bonus episodes.  Watch as SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick get caught in a feud between a crew of ghost pirates and the Flying Dutchman, plus more episodes featuring Flying Dutchman and also SpongeBob and Patrick joining Mr. Krabs on a treasure  hunt!

All this and more in “SpongeBob SquarePants: Ghouls Fools”, which will be available in August 2012.

What is SpongeBob SquarePants?

For over a decade, “SpongeBob SquarePants” has become such a tremendous hit for Nickelodeon and an animated series that many children have grown up with. A popular franchise which includes video games, the character featured on a variety of food products, toys, health-related items and more. Needless to say, “SpongeBob SquarePants”, although not a series shown on broadcast television, has managed to become a character that is part of American pop culture and still shows no signs of waning, especially with a new group of young viewers every year.

Created by Stephen Hillenburg in 1999, “SpongeBob SquarePants” is an animated series about a group of characters that live in the underwater city known as “Bikini Bottom”.

The main character of “SpongeBob SquarePants” are:

• SpongeBob SquarePants - A energetic and naive sea sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea with his pet snail Gary and works as a cook for The Krusty Krab. He enjoys hanging out with his best friend Patrick.
• Patrick Star – A pink starfish and the best friend of SpongeBob. Known for his ignorance and stupidity but still a good friend to SpongeBob.
• Squidward Tentacles – An egotistical cephalopod (squid or octopus) who works as a cashier at the Krusty Krab and although he doesn’t care for SpongeBob, he tolerates him.
• Sandy Cheeks – A squirrel who is a science genius and lives in an underwater dome who hails from Texas.
• Mr. Krabs – The money-loving boss of The Krusty Krab restaurant and boss of SpongeBob and Squidward.
• Plankton – The nemesis of Mr. Krabs who runs the rival restaurant, The Chum Bucket.

On August 2012, SpongeBob SquarePants: Ghouls Fools” comes with the following episodes:

• Ghouls Fools - (Season 8, Episode 162) SpongeBob and Patrick are caught in a feud between a crew of ghost pirates and the Flying Dutchman.
  
• The Curse of Bikini Bottom – (Season 7, Episode 133A) What happens when SpongeBob and Patrick awaken the Flying Dutchman from his long slumber?
• Ghost Host - (Season 4, Episode 70A) Did the Flying Dutchman forget how to be scary?  SpongeBob tries to help make the Flying Dutchman scary once again.
• Born Again Krabs – (Season 3, Episode 56A) What happens when the Flying Dutchman makes Squidward, Patrick and SpongeBob his slaves.
• Arrgh! – (Season 1, Episode 17A) Mr. Krabs enlists SpongeBob and Patrick to join him on a treasure hunt.
• Your Shoe’s Untied – (Season 2, Episode 21A) SpongeBob forgets to tie his shoes.
• Money Talks – (Season 5, Episode 88A) Mr. Krabs wish of having a conversation with his money comes true.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“SpongeBob SquarePants: Ghouls Fools” is featured in full screen and audio is featured in Dolby Digital English Stereo. Colors are vibrant and animation is very good but there are slight video quality differences from the more recent episodes compared to the season 1 and 2 episodes that are featured on this DVD.

Dialogue is front channel driven, clear and understandable.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“SpongeBob SquarePants: Ghouls Fools” does not come with any special features.

“SpongeBob SquarePants” is back for a special Halloween-themed DVD release.  But most importantly, this DVD highlights Bikini Bottom’s well-known ghost The Flying Dutchman.

The ghost pirate known as the Flying Dutchman acts bad but most of the time, he finds himself being the one who gets himself into trouble.  In these episodes,  SpongeBob and Patrick are typically caught in the middle from a feud with the Flying Dutchman’s feud with other ghost pirates, losing his scary touch and even turning SpongeBob and Patrick into ghosts or making him into one of his slaves.

So, you get six mini-episodes (from seasons 1-8) plus one full episode in the latest “SpongeBob SquarePants: Ghouls Fools” DVD release which will no doubt entertain your child/children or if you are young at heart.

My home is “SpongeBob SquarePants” mania for my nine-year-old. For the past four years, he has been a big fan of the animated series and has wanted everything that the character is featured on, may it be yogurt to toothpaste, he is a SpongeBob maniac and thus, he was excited when I watched this DVD alongside with him. I can’t help but think that if my son is this way, I can imagine how in the last decade, parents had to deal with their children loving this animated series and wanting SpongeBob this and SpongeBob that.

My wife and I have found the “SpongeBob SquarePants” series to be quite hilarious and fun. Especially when it comes to interacting with your kids, especially with the family singing along with the theme song.  So, I have no doubt that this scene probably plays out in many households where “SpongeBob SquarePants” is must see TV for these children.

Overall, if your children or if you are a fan of the series and you are not collecting the DVD season box sets, “SpongeBob SquarePants: Ghouls Fools” is yet another fun DVD release worth checking out!