Kicking off Nickelodeon week is the classic Spongebob as its title character tries to get back at everyone for scaring him on Halloween. In Bikini Bottom, Halloween is celebrated the same as above the water, and so we begin on kids trick-or-treating. Spongebob is washing dishes at the Krusty Krab when he suddenly begins hearing and seeing strange things, like the order rack spinning around to spell "BOO." He hurriedly finishes up and tries to get out the door, telling Mr. Krabs he's gone, but the boss crab suggests he stay for a while to hear a scary story. Hesitant, Spongebob finally agrees when Mr. Krabs says it's a true story about the scariest monster of all, and Krabs sets up a campfire in the restaurant. Mr. Krabs tells Spongebob about the "Flying Dutchman," a spirit who comes down on his massive ship (represented by a Krabby Patty) to steal people's souls (a pickle) for his soul bag. Already frightened, Spongebob leaps to the ceiling when Squidward pops up behind him dressed as the Dutchman with the menacing threat "I've come for your pickle!" The two laugh that Spongebob gets easier to scare each year, and Mr. Krabs mocks the irritated sponge, saying he hopes he's not too scared to come to the Krusty Krab party that night. Squidward gets one more scare on Spongebob, who heads home, terrified of everything, causing everyone to call him "Scaredy Pants." He carves an enormous pumpkin at home, complaining to Gary and claiming he won't be so scared anymore, only to shriek upon exiting and looking at his jack-o-lantern. Spongebob decides to go for his own scare when Patrick arrives, only to be scared himself to see Patrick with Groucho Glasses. Patrick suggests he wear a good costume, so Spongebob puts on a sheet. Patrick things he's a trick-or-treat bag, so he, annoyed, says he's the Flying Dutchman. Patrick doesn't think it's ready yet, and fashions some clogs for Spongebob, a joke I'm only now understanding, though Spongebob doesn't think it helps. He is proven correct when some kids show up and laugh at his scare attempt, calling him a "haunted mattress" and claiming they don't need candy because the "scare" was enough of a treat. Patrick shows him a paper ghost he cut out, and Spongebob realizes the difference between himself an a typical ghost is they have round heads while his is square. He then lets Patrick shave his head, though it's not a good sign that Patrick shaves an inward curve on the corners, rather than outward, which would have been enough. After Patrick successfully rounding off Spongebob's head, Patrick says it's time to go scare people. They run around outside with Spongebob moaning that he's the Flying Dutchman and Patrick unaware of what his own costume is supposed to be. One man they "scare" simply asks if they wanted candy when they run, though Patrick is sure Spongebob scared him. Patrick suggests they go to the Krusty Krab party, and along the way they see the kids from before, who simply say Spongebob was demoted to "haunted sleeping bag." Over at the Krusty Krab, people are filing in for the party in all manner of costumes, including Squidward as again the Dutchman, Sandy as a fish, and Pearl as the Bride of Frankenstein. When Mr. Krabs chokes on an apple he bobbed for, Pearl runs off, embarrassed. When Krabs spits the apple out, it flies past Sandy. The squirrel greets Squidward, who doesn't understand her costume, so she explains, pointlessly in the end, that she's a pet goldfish in a bowl. Spongebob and Patrick then arrive on the roof, and set in motion a plan that will give everyone their biggest scare. As is typical for a classic Spongebob episode, Scaredy Pants is consistently entertaining for fans of the show.
There's Halloween atmosphere right from the start, with Spongebob washing dishes in the spooky Krusty Krab, though of course it doesn't compare to Graveyard Shift with the dreaded Hash Slinging Slasher. It's easy to see from the start that Spongebob is easy to scare, and viewers get a laugh from both his fear at Mr. Krabs' story and the use of a patty and pickles for a boat and a soul, with Krabs actually saying souls look like pickles. The story of course leads to Squidward's scare, and the pickle joke leads into one of the funnier and more memorable lines when Squidward ominously states that he's come for Spongebob's "pickle," which grown up fans have had plenty of fun with. As was typical for Spongebob and some other shows, there is also humor mixed in that parents would get while their kids watch, like Patrick making Dutch clogs so Spongebob could be a Dutchman. There have been episodes, like Spongebob's fling as a hall monitor, where we see he tends to take things too seriously and think he's better at things than he is. We see that here as he attempts to scare everyone to no avail, leading to entertaining moments like the homeowner's dry response and the kids calling him a "haunted mattress" and "haunted sleeping bag." The entire episode is festive, with Halloween designs and costumes everywhere, and the episode thankfully introduced us to the fearsome Flying Dutchman! With all that added up, it's still fun for a fan like me to revisit this holiday special on Halloween, and if you're a fan, you might want to give it a check as well.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorI love the entertainment side of things. Video games, tv shows, superheroes and movies are my passion and I'd love to get the news out for things I enjoy. My contact page has links to my social media, so if you enjoy what I have to say, likes, shares, comments, and follows are always greatly appreciated! Archives
April 2020
Categories
All
|