DVD review: 'It's a SpongeBob Christmas!'

In the grand yuletide tradition of the Rankin/Bass specials “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town,” SpongeBob's first Christmas episode in a dozen years has been lovingly crafted through stop-motion animation.

In the cartoon's typically wacky fashion, the musical Christmas special both sends up and pays homage to the Rankin/Bass classics. Patchy the Pirate — accompanied as usual by his parrot, Potty — takes the narrator role a la Fred Astaire's letter carrier in “Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town.” The brigand even steals a mail truck and kidnaps the usual postal carrier to better inhabit the role — and ensure his letter gets to Santa Claus.

In Bikini Bottom, the only item on Plankton's wish list is the usual: the Krusty Krab's secret Krabby Patty formula. Figuring he will again be on Santa's naughty list, the one-eyed baddie decides to become the nicest guy in town — by giving away fruitcake laced with jerktonium. The rare element is supposed to make everyone mean, and Plankton recruits naive SpongeBob to unwittingly distribute the spiked treat to the inhabitants of Bikini Bottom.

Naturally, Spongebob's big-hearted love of Christmas saves the day just as Santa Claus (voice of guest star John Goodman) comes to town.

Bonus features: Behind-the-scenes featurette, episode-length animatic, yule log and two mp3-compatible new songs, “Santa's Eyes” and “Hot Fruitcake.”

— Brandy McDonnell