SpongeBob Throws a House Party

Why do millions of adults tune in along with kids to Nickelodeon’s wacky little ‘toon show, “SpongeBob SquarePants”? Not for the hokey live-action “Patchy the Pirate” that dominates tonight’s prime-time special, “SpongeBob’s House Party” (9:30 p.m.).

SpongeBob is an animated, endearing sea sponge--”absorbent and yellow and porous is he,” as the theme song goes--who lives in a zany, mixed-media underwater world and romps through off-the-wall adventures infused with refreshing innocence.

First-time viewers curious about the appeal of this series will find it only in the genuinely funny animated segment that makes up a scant half of tonight’s half-hour: SpongeBob throws a party in his pineapple house under the sea, but micro-manages it to such a degree that no one has fun until he’s accidentally locked out and arrested as a would-be burglar.

The cartoon is intercut with live-action segments atypical of the show. They star Tom Kenny, who voices SpongeBob with such comic flair. He plays Patchy the Pirate, who’s throwing a sea-themed party too, in an offbeat, “Pee-wee’s Playhouse”-type abode. But ho-hum humor and few moments of visual fun are poor substitutes for the wide-eyed little yellow guy and his pals.