Post Sequel SpongeBob is Overrated and Here’s Why
Intro
I haven’t done these long essays in awhile, and I want to talk about something about a long running show’s era, in specific the current era. Now before you guys attack me for betraying the SpongeBob fandom, it wasn’t out of spite. It was something that I wanted to see the show try something new and different after almost a decade of the same guy in charge, but the end results proved me otherwise. I also kind of start to grow out of the show in general, and that might be the cause of it. Without further ado, here’s my opinions on SpongeBob SquarePants episodes produced after Sponge out of Water and why I think they’re not as good as people are making out to be.
Post-Sponge Out of Water
In the mid 2010s, the first era after the 2004 movie has came to an end. Thus it gave us a second movie called Sponge out of Water. It had a very interesting premise. The first half plays out like your typical Spongebob episode, where Plankton tried to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula once again. Then it became a time travel parody in the middle. And the last 20 minutes is where it got it’s title and it got promoted like crazy: Spongebob and his friends enter the real world, in 3D. To coincide the wrapping of the second movie, it was revealed that the creator Stephen Hillenburg would be back working on the show full time. And thus the post sequel era was born. SOOW wasn’t much of a sequel but we call it that because it was the second Spongebob theatrical movie. As many people stated, Season 9B saw a renewed interest in the show after 10 years of post-movie which was ran by Paul Tibbitt. Tibbitt would continue working for the show for the rest of season 9 until he left the show for good in 2016, leaving Vincent Waller and Marc Ceccarelli in charge. In my opinion, season 9B is what the post-sequel era should’ve been: a perfect balance of dialogue humor and wacky facial expressions. I enjoyed this patch of episodes because it set a calmer tone of the show compared to what we have nowadays. Like some people are saying, it felt like I was watching a very early episode with underwater atmosphere. Lost in Bikini Bottom reflected this, despite not being the best way to start off the new era (this, Company Picnic, Married to Money, and Mutiny on the Krusty feel like rejected scripts from post-movie era when it comes to execution). Episodes like Tutor Sauce, What’s Eating Patrick?, The Sewer of Bikini Bottom, Two Thumbs Down, Sharks vs Pods, Goodbye Krabby Patty are good examples of interesting ideas with great characterizations. I only like found one or two episodes that was rather questionable but the good outweighs the bad. Sad that this didn't last long...
Ren and Stimpy 2.0
But then, the impossible happened. On October 15, 2016, the episode Whirlybrains premiered on TV, thus marking the beginning of season 10. When I first saw that episode, I noticed something different. The show all of a sudden became so expressive and zany that I thought this was going to be an one-off thing. A few episodes later, when I saw the premiere of Snooze You Lose and Krusty Katering, is when I truly noticed a shift in tone, and it was for worse. Not only these new episode have became a cash grab for the network, but they also seem to be made as an excuse to churn out more meme reactions. Part of the reason why I liked the off-model faces in the first 9 seasons was because it happened so sporadic. It made a punchline work, and it wasn't literally in your face. When I watch SpongeBob now (now as in seasons 10-present), all I see is memes and forced slapstick. Not to mention, it became a Ren and Stimpy clone. And don't get me started with the characters nowadays. While a couple of them are back to their earlier season selves (like SpongeBob himself and Mr. Krabs), certain characters have gotten more annoying than usual, due to the writers and artists not adopting to the new style. As a result, Patrick now acts like a toddler who would throw a tantrum for not getting what he want or just shout for the sake of comedy (example: Patrick's Coupon, The Clam Whisperer, Pat The Horse, Ink Lemonade). Meanwhile, Squidward rarely make any sarcastic comments anymore. Whenever he appears nowadays, he would simply go ballistic for the littlest things (example: Whirlybrains, The Clam Whisperer, Goon on the Moons, Jolly Lodgers). I'd rather have the jerk Patrick and the miserable Squidward back (though he has always been abused). I noticed no difference with Mr Krabs character, except that he's somewhat more bearable again. Plankton is somewhat more silly, but he haven't changed much. Karen, on the other hand, now gets more screentime, and to reflect the new style, she is more expressive than ever. Sandy is still Sandy. I will say this, there are some positives I got to give this new style. The animation is well done, even if it tries to mimic Looney Tunes' fluidity (as well as humor). The facial expressions can be drawn decently when it doesn't get overdone. I have no ill against the crew members as they are doing their jobs. On another note, most of my favorite episodes during this era are the ones that are experimental (Mermaid Pants, Mimic Madness, Feral Friends, Boo-Kini, Squid Noir). Just wish the writing was better and tolerable...I have yet to see season 12 outside of Big Birthday Blowout, but my biggest fear is that the writers will continue going overboard with this new style and it might overstay its welcome after 3 years. Sorry fans, but the flaws I listed proved that while seasons 4-9 weren't no "pre-movie era", at least I remembered more than just the wacky faces and loud humor from that period. So I just can't get into this new side of the show for whatever reasons.
The Future of SpongeBob SquarePants
All good things must come to an end eventually. There was one unfortunate day for SpongeBob fans. On November 26, 2018, Stephen Hillenburg sadly passed away from ALS. He announced that he was diagnoised with the disease back in March 2017. In my opinion, this news have mentally affected me and certain side of the fandom. The show's current (wacky) state have been a source of many arguments I have with the fandom all because I couldn't accepted the change. I can't even express my opinions on modern SpongeBob without being attacked. Not to mention, the negativity surrounding the show's "decline" continues to be a hot topic. And all of a sudden, the fandom have now changed for the worst, starring on February 3, 2019, when it the NFL betrayed them for a musical performance at the Super Bowl. There were many angry fans when it turns out Travis Scott was the one to perform, not SpongeBob and his friends. While it was understandable to be upset about, they went overboard by saying that they deserved better and that it was a slap in the face for Hillenburg. And thus, our journey of the the fans treating Steve like they personally know him begins. On February 14, 2019 (although it was dated back as early as his first few days in office), Nickelodeon and Brian Robbins announced that they were going to make a handful of SpongeBob spinoffs to explore the show's universe (like MCU). While the idea may have sounds okay at first, this is when people started being suspicious of the current regime's treatment of the franchise. It wasn't until June 4, 2019 when they announced the first SB spinoff, Kamp Koral. Everyone (including me) weren't pleased. The cartoon community were pissed because, according to a tweet from Paul Tibbitt, Steve wouldn't approve of this. And I didn't approved of it because of the idea. Muppet Babies deserves the blame for starting this trend and reinventing it again with the 2018 reboot. And besides, summer camp shows are getting old at this point. However, after a few months, I grew sick and tired of all the "STEVE WOULDN'T WANTED THIS" posts concerning the spinoffs. The fans suddenly became so attracted to Hillenburg that they started spreading more lies about his life. When the SpongeBob musical live special got promoted on Twitter, everyone blew a fuse for no reason and thought it was an insult to Hillenburg, not knowing he attended the premiere in 2017. And now the fuel is only continuing with the newly announced Patrick spinoff.
Conclusion
Folks, I am going to frank with you. The negativity and the fandom surrounding this show has scarred me for life now. It's nothing but excessive arguments over which era is better, speaking behind a dead's man over the spinoffs, refusing to watch any other shows on Nick (more details will be explained in a little bit), and whatnot. I can't take it anymore. I was already no longer being a fan in 2017, but 2020 is the year I can finally make it official, I no longer supporting any new SpongeBob content is produced after Hillenburg's death. Not because it's disrespectful for Hillenburg, but the idea of a show continuing even after a creator's death will feel soulless. He didn't even lived to see it turn 20. And let be really be honest once more, Nickelodeon REALLY needs to stop depending on this show so much. They set the bar so high with its success that if a Nicktoon doesn't reach SpongeBob level ratings, it will be cancelled right now and will be sent to the Nicktoons network. Lately, I have been defending Nickelodeon too much, but the past few years have finally open my eyes and realize that corporations are not your friends. (I still admire Nick for their content, but ViacomCBS is a company I won't be defending) Luckily, the cartoon community has started protesting by convincing Nick that their animation lineup is more than just the Sponge (and a large family, which have a spinoff featuring a Latina and her big family). The hashtag is called #SupportNewNicktoons (whether it be original or based from existing Property). And as much as it pains to say this, I think it's for Nick to finally let go of SpongeBob forever as a show. They can continue making merch for the show and air reruns as long as they like, but seeing the show be responsible for everything wrong with Nick is making me depressed. It's better to have a show be finished than to continue suffering the consequences. Anyway, that's it for this essay. I hope you respect my opinions on the post-sequel era (although we can all agree that Nickelodeon really needs a drastic improvement so its reputation can improve).
