SpongeBob SquarePants (DVD)

## SpongeBob SquarePants

**SpongeBob SquarePants** was the first DVD release of the show with the exact same name. It was released on March 12, 2002 and contains four of the first episodes from season one plus three episodes from season two and one episode from season three. This release, like its VHS counterpart, contains an introduction from Paul Winchell, the creator and voice of *SpongeBob* as well as the person in charge of Nickelodeon at the time.

## Introduction from the Winch

Paul Winchell greets the viewer and talks about how he came up with the ideas for the series and how he developed what Stephen Hillenburg first created.

This release also contains an afterword from Winchell, playing with his pet seal Winston and elephant Tallulah and hoping the viewer enjoyed the adventures of SpongeBob and friends.

## Episodes

The asterisk (\*) means an episode uses its Nick Jr. airing.

The double asterisks (\*\*) means an episode uses its Noggin airing.

### Main Episodes

1. Bubblestand (season 1, episode 1a)
2. Jellyfishing (season 1, episode 1b)
4. Tea at the Treedome (season 1, episode 2a)\*
5. Sandy’s Rocket (season 1, episode 8)

### Bonus Episodes

* Dying for Pie (season 2, episode 1)
* Wormy (season 2, episode 5a)
* The Smoking Peanut (season 2, episode 13b)\*
* Club SpongeBob (season 3, episode 1a)\*\*

## Bonus Features

* Audio Commentary for “Bubblestand”
* SpongeBob’s Start
* Behind the Scenes at Nickelodeon – Special Delivery

## Cast

* Wilfrid Hyde-White as the voices of Squidward and Dream Gary (the narrator)
* Rex Harrison as the Octopus in the Beaver Hat
* Joss Ackland as Reflecto
* Ernest Borgnine as Mermaid Man
* Tim Conway as Barnacle Boy
* Sirena Irwin as Margaret SquarePants
* Bob Weighton as Patrick Star / Television Documentary Narrator
* Paul Winchell as SpongeBob and Harold SquarePants / King Hale-Bopp / Pirate Captain / Dappermane Puff

### Voice Talent (in alphabetical order)

* Ralph Bakshi as the Park Ranger
* Hugh Bonneville (“Club SpongeBob”), Tom Kenny, Janet James, Kent Osborne, Rob Paulsen, Rob Rackstraw, Frank Welker and Keith Wickham as various characters
	+ Kenny and Welker also voice Gary and the Jellyfish, but Welker alone provides all of the other special vocal effects, most notably those of SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward and Potty.
* Joe Cocker (credited as Joe **Crocker**) as King Hale-Bopp’s singing voice
* June Foray as Sandy Cheeks / Nazz-Mimi / Sadie
* Peter Hawkins as Potty the Parrot / Zonk / Mr. Krabs / Farley Flatfish / Mzeebo the Vulture
* John Hurt as Plankton / additional voices
* Elton John, Lulu, Ozzy Osbourne and Su Pollard as the King’s Royal Band
* Jill Talley as Karen Plankton / additional voices
* David Warner as the Mayor

### Puppeteers (live-action segments only)

* Melford Espey Jr. as Dream Gary (the narrator) / King Hale-Bopp
	+ Noel MacNeal provides the facial puppetry for Dream Gary.
	+ Mak Wilson provides the facial puppetry for King Hale-Bopp.
* Jonathan Silsby as Potty Parrot
* David Barclay as Zonk
* Mike Quinn as Squacker

Additional puppeteers are Dee Bradley Baker, Stephanie D’Abruzzo, Jessica DiCicco, Alice Dinnean Vernon, Steven Kynman, Tim Lagasse, Joey Mazzarino, Toby Philpott, Martin P. Robinson Matt Vogel, Megan Washington and Melanie Zanetti.

## Trivia

* This marks the first for a few things in *SpongeBob SquarePants* history:
	+ The first DVD to be released for the series, as well as the only one to be produced by Strand Home Video before they went bankrupt.
	+ The first to fully utilize the live-hand Potty the Parrot puppet and have Peter Hawkins voice the character, with Frank Welker providing the special vocal effects.
		- However, Jonathan Silsby still provides the main puppetry for the character.
	+ The first English-speaking piece of *SpongeBob* media to fix nearly every error in each episode.
	+ The first and only single-disc release until Bikini Bottom Bash to feature two double-length episodes.
* The episodes on this release are presented in a combined order of their production and when they take place in the *SpongeBob* continuity.
* This DVD got a “special edition” Blu-ray release on May 1, 2014 to celebrate the show’s 15th anniversary, complete with the same introduction and closing on this release as well as introductions from other releases.