Not since SpongeBob SquarePants has nautical nonsense made such waves. The Cartoon Network series The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack boasts striking stylized animation, a gallery of endearing and bizarre characters, and a marvelous crew of voice actors headed by a gravel-voiced Brian Doyle-Murray as Captain K'nuckles (the "k" is not silent), whose first (and only) mate is a wide-eyed moppet, Flapjack, who yearns for adventure. They live in the mouth of a blue whale, Bubbie, who acts as a kind of Orcan Jiminy Cricket. This DVD contains the series' first five episodes, a scant output that may disappoint the show's burgeoning cult following, but for newcomers, it's just enough to get their feet wet. Comparisons with SpongeBob are inevitable. Standing in for the Krusty Krab in this series is the Candy Barrel, where sweets are dispensed instead of booze, and the proprietor, Peppermint Larry, has a candy wife. Though not as sublimely silly and good-natured as SpongeBob, Flapjack has cross-generational appeal with silly stories and characters for kids and savvy writing to tickle adults. In the story "Several Leagues Under the Sea," a Captain Nemo-esque character powers his mechanical "alpha whale" with "the angst of 30 juvenile delinquents." There are also some lessons to be learned about friendship. Entertaining see-worthy extra features take viewers behind the scenes of the series to introduce creator Thurop Van Orman (who voices Flapjack), glimpse the cast at work behind the microphones, and follow the animation process. --Donald Liebenson