How I Got Absorbed into the World of Spongebob
Written: Mar 16 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Unforgettable characters, brainless entertainment
Cons: Not what I'd consider "educational"
The Bottom Line: One dip into these blue waters and you may soon be hooked.
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| AshleyA's Full Review: SpongeBob SquarePants |
Fighting over the remote at 9:00 one morning, my husband insisted on having the TV tuned into Nickelodeon. "Why would someone watch such a stupid cartoon?" I asked in my most wifely voice. "Just watch it, and you'll find out," he replied. And there I sat staring at the boob tube getting reeled slowly into the world of Bikini Bottom and those who lived there.
Spongebob is a tittering, tighty whitie-wearing sponge that I'm sure very few would tolerate in his/her neighborhood. Living in a pineapple in the heart of Bikini Bottom between his best friend Patrick who is a few buns short of a famous Crabby Patty and the ever annoyed Squidward, Spongebob is never afraid to volunteer or impose his help and services to anyone, especially when they are not needed. Who else has a 20-step program to blow the perfect bubbles, can have fun for days and days with a small paper wrapper putting Origami experts to shame, or is not afraid to take the law into his own hands after being reluctantly designated as a hall monitor? Spongebob achieves all of these feats and many more in each 30-minute episode.
Patrick, Spongebob's best friend, is a dumpy starfish who was born without the ever important Clue gene making it impossible for him to laugh without being perceived as an absolute dimwit or to even make simple, rational decisions for that matter. He has coached Spongebob on tea-drinking etiquette even in the midst of a near death experience for Spongebob and has even played a doctor to Spongebob during a particularly severe case of the Suds with good intentions but a medicinal practice worthy of a lawsuit. He is loyal because he knows of no other way to be and is great for a few laughs.
Squidward resides in an Easter Island statue head with walls that will never be considered too thick to conceal the earlobe-curling screeches that are produced with his beloved clarinet. He is the epitome of crabbiness and would love nothing more than to have Spongebob out of his hair completely. I can't say that I particularly blame him as Spongebob has been known to hop into bed with him or walk into his house without a moment's notice. In the end, the love/hate relationship that he has with Spongebob prevails even after Mr. Squarepants came this close to moving away from Bikini Bottom.
Sandy is a sweet-talking Texan gal who is good supportive friend to Spongebob, but she's quite sensitive. Don't you dare mess with Texas, or she will hunt you down like the trash-talking sponge or starfish that you are and threaten you severely. She would love to be more hospitable to her sea-living friends, but since she is an oxygen breather, and the rest acquire their air through other means, this girl in the glass bubble must venture outside her dome to spend time with her friends.
Last but not least is the pirate-voiced, financially motivated Mr. Crab. He is the owner of the restaurant home to the famous crabby patty. Spongebob had to prove himself to this moneylubber to achieve his aspirations of being a top notch fry cook. With dollar signs as semi-permanent irises in his eyes, Mr. Crab always has his eyes on profit, profit, profit, and will stop short at nothing to make sure he gets it.
The show itself is colorful and creative. I am almost afraid to ask how the creator came up with the Spongepants concept. While the episodes are entertaining bordering on ridiculous, my husband and I have laughed out loud on many occasions at the magnitude of Spongebob's misadventures and the sheer infiniteness of his contortions. As for children, it is good, clean fun with subtle lessons to be learned in an episode here or there but no overall educational agenda.
It can be seen on Nickelodeon on Saturdays and Sundays in one-hour blocks. Each 30-minute episode contains two cartoons. Re-runs are frequent, and I find that I'm catching fewer and fewer shows lately in the hopes that I'll happen upon a new one one weekend.
So that's my story about how I was absorbed into the world of Spongebob. He seems to have developed a cult following of sorts as his hard-to-find merchandise sells like hotcakes on-line.
Recommended:
Yes
Type of Program: Cartoon or Animated
Program Quality: Entertaining, but not intellectually or emotionally engaging
Best Suited For: 6 to 8 Years
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Epinions.com ID:
AshleyA
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Member: Ashley
Location: Austin, Texas
Reviews written: 59
Trusted by: 49 members
About Me:
Livin' the good life in Texas.
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