There was a time when everyone could talk about how funny the latest episode of SpongeBob was.
It gained enormous popularity in 2001. This was only two years after its debut.
Now, it’s just not like that anymore.
You think to yourself…
“What happened?”
Read on to learn:
- 9 real reasons why SpongeBob is bad now.
- What things the creators added that didn’t help with the quality.
- The must-know elements of the show that are now missing.
- And a lot more…
Why did SpongeBob get bad?
SpongeBob got bad because it lacked subtlety. When SpongeBob first started, people praised it for having subtle jokes. That was one element of the show that made it so funny. In recent seasons, being too obvious resulted in poor overall quality.
Why is SpongeBob bad now? 9 reasons
#1: The original creator left the show
In 2017, Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of the show, announced that he had Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
It’s a condition that damages specific nerve cells that are responsible for voluntary movements.
Despite that, he still wanted to continue working with the show.
Eventually, his health continued to decline. This made it difficult for him to provide input to the show.
As a result, the cartoon started having no real direction. Hence, the major difference in the later episodes.
#2: No more clever jokes
Back then, the funniest thing about the show was the interactions between characters.
The humor mainly comes from throwing funny but lighthearted jokes at each other.
For example, SpongeBob often pokes fun at Squidward and considers him a friend.
But this octopus isn’t impressed by the sea sponge’s child-like personality. So much so that Squidward would always come up with a funny and relatable response.
This YouTube video showed all the times Squidward kicked SpongeBob out of his house:
These kinds of clever jokes gradually disappeared in the later sequences…
Specifically season 4 onwards.
The other writers in the team failed to capture the magic that SpongeBob used to have.
Instead, they focused on other kinds of humor that are more kid-friendly.
For example, in “The Fry Cook Games,” SpongeBob defeated Patrick in a wrestling match.
Being the winner, he changed the latter’s name to just “Rick.”
#3: Poor animation
The original creator himself said that he was so-so in marine biology, but he was great at art.
So it even surprised him that he could combine 2 of his interests and make them into something big.
The amount of detail in the art is a good way to gauge the quality of an animated series.
But there are other factors too. One example is the creative use of color and the fluidity of movements.
With that said, the early days of SpongeBob used simple drawings. And it appealed to both kids and adults.
In the later seasons, you can observe that the animators put more effort into the details of the drawings.
These are unnecessary and even contradict the nature of the show, which is simple and funny.
#4: SpongeBob and Patrick’s personality
SpongeBob is supposed to be an optimistic character (sometimes too much).
Meanwhile, Patrick’s always hungry, ignorant, and naive.
Back then, the personalities of the characters were dynamic but, at the same time, grounded.
You can observe this when they interact with each other.
For example, SpongeBob sees the good in everyone.
He tolerates Patrick even though the latter sometimes embarrasses him.
Yet, SpongeBob always finds a way to put up with this pink starfish and even appreciates him.
In the later seasons, you can see the decline of the show’s quality. It happened when the showrunners prioritized only one aspect of the characters’ personalities.
Not only that, the writers took that single personality and cranked up the level to the point where it’s no longer funny.
For example, there’s an episode called “What’s Eating Patrick?”
Here, this starfish joined an eating contest.
It emphasizes that Patrick only cares about eating food and nothing else.
Meanwhile, SpongeBob turned into a crying toddler that is only noisy and disruptive.
This is the case in “Sentimental Sponge.” The whole joke in this episode was that he had too much emotional investment in things he meant to throw away.
#5: More random and chaotic
Don’t get me wrong, even the show’s earlier episodes were chaotic.
For instance, “Dying for Pie” is an over-the-top story in season 2. The whole plot started because Squidward had a dream about SpongeBob annoying him.
This type of mess was one of Nicktoon’s strengths.
The difference is that the later seasons didn’t follow the same unique structure.
In the earlier sequences, the randomness of the show was still relevant to the story and characters.
But the writers of seasons 4 and onwards only care about running gags.
We can take Squidward as an example. He is an angry and bitter adult that is one of the central punchlines in the series.
Oftentimes, he would say one-liners that show he is too tired to deal with SpongeBob on a regular work day.
Here are some of the best Squidward quotes:
- “Too bad that didn’t kill me.”
- “What are those Neanderthals up to? Can’t they see I’m spoiling myself?”
- “I order the food. You cook the food. The customer gets the food. We do that for 40 years, and then we die.”
These quotes appear to be random at times, but they are still part of his personality.
They replaced those kinds of randomness with plot points that are so out of character.
#6: Physical humor
This became more like a Tom and Jerry type of comedy where they run around trying to catch each other. And with little to no dialogue.
It’s more kid-friendly humor because children tend to be visual learners. And this study supports that idea.
The researchers found that children can better understand words when paired with pictures.
Moreover, another research concluded that 65% of the general population learns through images. So it’s not surprising if kids turn out to be a big part of that number.
“Okay, but how is that bad?”
Well, it’s not. However, this approach made the show stray further from its adult audience.
They removed what used to define SpongeBob as a comedy. And they replaced it with a cheaper alternative that has a different appeal.
For example, there are lots of puns in the first three seasons of this Nicktoon.
In the “Sailor Mouth” episode of season 2, SpongeBob said, “We’ll probably get 40 lashes!”
And Patrick thought about eyelashes instead of punishment.
In comparison, jokes in season 8 are about Squidward getting electrocuted. This happens even in scenes where he doesn’t deserve it.
#7: Repetitive storyline
If you’ve followed SpongeBob since its early days, you’re most likely familiar with the running gags here. The show tweaked those in every episode so they never really got old.
At least that was the case before they stopped innovating and creating new ones.
The original formula that was so effective before eventually became overused.
After all, who wants to hear the same story repeatedly?
This seems like a sign that the showrunners are running out of ideas.
To some degree, you can somehow forgive them because the show has been running for over 20 years now.
The episode “Atlantis Squarepantis” is the most popular episode of SpongeBob to date. And it was released way back in 2007.
This means there has been a significant decline in viewership over the past decade.
If that were the case, wouldn’t it be better to keep the show on hold?
Or create fewer episodes to focus more on quality instead of quantity?
One example of the show repeating itself is the way Plankton keeps wearing a disguise. And he always dresses up as someone that SpongeBob trusts.
This is so he could trick him into revealing the secret Krabby Patty formula.
#8: Fillers
Starting with season 4, SpongeBob SquarePants is now more about wasting precious run time.
Beating around the bush definitely has no place in short-format TV shows.
Each episode is only 11 minutes long. And each had almost no filler scenes like long flashbacks.
These short-format TV shows are all about continuous stories.
So they don’t typically contain elaborate backstories to tell a joke.
And yet, later seasons like the 6th one included whole filler episodes into the show.
One example is “Choir Boys” from season 6. This sequence is infamous for having so many scenes involving Squidward getting hurt.
You might also be interested in: SpongeBob Episodes & Seasons [The Complete List]
#9: Lack of subtlety and visual jokes
It was the small details of the show that truly stood out.
SpongeBob didn’t pull any punches, even with jokes that were borderline inappropriate.
You can argue that the show owes its popularity to subtlety.
One big example here is the joke about where Patrick star lives.
It’s a reference to the “living under a rock” phrase because one of his personalities is being ignorant.
Sometimes, you can catch the jokes in the background frames of the show.
In recent years, they also decided to make the Nicktoon about constantly flashing images.
An episode called “Ink Lemonade” is a perfect example. The showrunners included a montage of Patrick trying different ways to scare Squidward.
“Why is this bad?”
Montages use too little time for the viewers to process each scene.
As this study suggested, fast-paced TV shows like this can immediately decrease focus among children.
#Bonus: No adult jokes
Hidden puns have been present ever since the first season of SpongeBob.
This is one of the reasons why most internet memes are using the first few sequences of the show as templates.
For example, a picture of SpongeBob acting like a chicken.
It has been constantly used in memes and funny scenarios as a mocking reaction.
It shows that adult jokes in kids’ TV series tend to become timeless classics.
The center of these jokes in the show is Squidward and Mr. Krabs.
For example, this greedy Krusty Krab restaurant owner obsesses over money like how most adults are.
Some identify themselves more with Squidward because his character is a misunderstood artist.
Everyone in Bikini Bottom hates him because he’s grumpy. And he has a 9-5 job that he seemingly doesn’t like.
But it became more about SpongeBob and Patrick being kids. Meanwhile, Squidward’s presence is only to express his annoyance.