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Reviews
The Amazing World of Gumball: The Slap (2016)
Commitment to the bit pays off
This episode's type of humor may cause some to roll their eyes, but there's a lot of fantastic writing and acting in here. The writers give Jake Hopkins the most ridiculous things to say (and sing), and he gives an 11/10 performance. The first time I saw this, I was dying at the entirety of the second act. I showed it to my brother and we were both struggling to breathe as Gumball repeatedly tries and fails to get Tobias to slap his butt.
It took me several watches to realize that Tobias is whistling the same tune that Gumball was singing about his butt. Just another brilliant joke that the writers threw in.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Mind the Gap/Dirty Bubble Returns (2019)
One decent, one meh
Mind the Gap started off with the crazy exaggerated facial expressions that scream, "This is for kids!" It turned me off pretty quickly. It got a little better. None of the jokes are really memorable, though the jazz club is a fun spot, and Spongebob talking all cool was a pleasure to listen to. 6/10
Dirty Bubble Returns has more funny jokes, for sure. It's around a 7/10 to me. The current 8.3 rating is wayyyy too generous to this pairing.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Bubble Bass's Tab/Kooky Cooks (2021)
Sponge and Squid dynamic is good
Bubble Bass's Tab works pretty well. Most jokes land, and the concept has creativity, if in a goofy way thanks to Bubble Bass's low-budget basement design. Kooky Cooks has good humor in spots too, though it leans a little more into the weird and uncomfortable at times.
Both of these episodes have Spongebob and Squidward together for substantial amounts of time, and they luckily play off of each other well. Spongebob's cheeriness doesn't become annoying, and Squidward is delightfully gloomy with appropriate bursts of other strong emotions when he feels he needs to take charge.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Appointment TV/Karen's Virus (2018)
Lots to like
Appointment TV: This episode has story beats that greatly resemble those of "Overbooked" and "The Abrasive Side," but that's OK because this one culminates in a fun, wholesome way that makes you appreciate all the characters. -7.75
Karen's Virus: A very fun ride, with cool and clever design. Glad the show tried this style. -8.5.
Overall: 8.125.
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Krusty Bucket/Squid's on a Bus (2019)
Middle of the road
The Krusty Bucket has a decent concept. It's similar to premises we've seen this show use before, but has just enough of a twist to make it different, mostly exemplified by the end scene. There were no super hilarious jokes here, but the end scene was kind of clever to me, as was the whole "handshake" thing. Squid's on a Bus had a few funnier jokes, but nothing to elevate this episode above average. I wouldn't gather my family and friends to view these episodes, but I wouldn't necessarily change the channel either.
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Ghost of Plankton/My Two Krabses (2019)
Not as good or bad as the other reviews make it out to be
The good: Characters mostly stay true to who they are; no character assassinations
The meh: These episodes don't contain too many clever jokes; the concepts are a little bit creative
The bad: Not that engaging overall
In summary: There's nothing actively bad here, but nothing to move the needle towards the "good" direction either.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Sanctuary!/What's Eating Patrick? (2015)
A clear improvement from previous seasons
Sanctuary! Is a fun concept, with Spongebob becoming like a crazy "cat lady" except with snails. It's not packed with humor, but still has some good jokes. What's Eating Patrick? Is another good concept, and utilizes sports tropes to give it a fun atmosphere. Of course, the humor needs to be solid for it to work, and it mostly is. Nothing gut-busting, but it's nice to see all the main characters used in the proper way for both of these episodes.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Mimic Madness/House Worming (2017)
Mimic Madness is quite good
9/10 Mimic Madness
8/10 House Worming
8.5 overall.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Whirly Brains/MermaidPants (2016)
Good and bad kinda cancel
The thing that most informs this rating for me is that Spongebob and Patrick are both intentionally and unintentionally jerks at various points in these episodes, which is annoying. Whirly Brains doesn't really stand out; some funny jokes, nothing too memorable. It's a little odd that they brought in Ed Asner for the small role he plays. MermaidPants has a good concept with the gang pretend-playing as superheroes and villains, and it's particularly fun to see Mr. Krabs and Squidward pretending(?) to be villains. Ultimately, some jokes land, some jokes don't.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Krusty Koncessionaires/Dream Hoppers (2020)
Actually decent
I went in expecting these not to be good based on other episodes from this season, but I actually found them to be solid. There are some decent jokes, like the names of the voice actors on each door backstage, and it was neat to see a bit of continuity between the episodes, as one picks up where the other left off, though with a different plot. Dream Hoppers was pretty wild but in a good way, because I worried it would be just like Sleepy Time, but they took a different approach. It's not S1-S4 Spongebob, but it's decent programming.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Unreal Estate/Code Yellow (2017)
7.5
Unreal Estate: 8/10 (pretty enjoyable, second half is particularly good with the right mix of goofy and clever jokes)
Code Yellow: 7/10 (fine, nothing actively bad and some decent jokes, but nothing special either)