20 years of SpongeBob lead to this moment. Patchy the Pirate finally met SpongeBob!
I have been a SpongeBob fan all of my life, so naturally a special such as this one is very important to me. Having SpongeBob's 20th birthday (since its debut) culminate in an hour special with the real life voice actors was something really special. I was not left disappointed.
The episode acknowledged straight away that it was SpongeBob's birthday. It started off with a sweet moment between Gary and SpongeBob and a nice gag with his present being something Gary created with his 'slime.' I absolutely love little moments like those between SpongeBob and Gary.
The main plot was Patrick taking SpongeBob on a tour of the land above water, while Sandy and his friends got the party set up, down at SpongeBob's house. I really like how the tour guy driving the fish tank (which was also really cool and clever) was the same guy that constantly exclaimed 'amazing,' in the episode 'No Pictures Please.' It was a nice touch because in that episode Patrick was the one giving the tour, now it's the other way around.
The side plot also kicked off, and there were several humorous moments as well as callbacks too. The Tattletale Strangler and Mindy attended! I love callbacks and returning characters and there were many spread through out if you looked closely enough. It was great seeing Sandy wanting the party to be as perfect as possible, while everyone else tried to reach agreements on how the party should be set up.
Once SpongeBob reached land, there were a few funny moments, such as David Hasselhoff getting flipped over by the submarine, and the human beings being called 'beach giraffes' I believe it was. Then there was the beans scene...
Ehhh, I'm not sure I really understood it. I was... confused, to say the least. I remember watching it trying so hard to find the punchline or the humor, but I was struggling for sure. It seems this is a common sentiment from others that have watched this special, though I read one take on it and that was the fact that it was possibly supposed to be correlated to Goofy Goober and serve as the 'above water' version of him. I actually really like that idea, but if it's actually the case, I wish they would've made that more clear so the scene could be appreciated more. All in all though, it went on a bit too long and I would have preferred time to other scenes, such as more for the actual voice actors.
One scene I really enjoyed though in particular, that some didn't, was the gorilla scene. I know, it was a bit strange, but it worked for me. For one, it seemed like a nice callback to the gorilla that appeared in 'I Had an Accident,' and the abruptness of turning a supposedly 'serious' business meeting into a crazed gorillas meeting, was so random and worked. I also enjoyed the antics with the dog, and how it eventually stood up straight and made the owner fetch the ball instead. Pure gold.
Then, we finally get to what was most anticipated, The Trusty Slab. Let me start off by saying that Patrick's voice actor, Bill Fagerbakke, was the highlight. All of his lines landed really well, especially the one where Rodger Bumpass (voice of Squidward) asked him something along the lines of, "don't you have to be stupid somewhere" to which Bill responded, "not until four."
Tom Kenny was also very pleasing to watch. I loved the little effects of him making the patties and singing his little song. Clancy Brown did very well as well portraying Mr Krabs and I was left under the same impression Krabs leaves on me; a greedy old boss. I thought it was great seeing Carolyn Lawrence fight off Mr. Lawrence, bringing Sandy's karate side into the mix.
Yes, it could've went on a tad bit longer, but I was super satisfied that this idea actually came into fruition for a SpongeBob special. I was content and fulfilled and it was a real treat getting to see the actors play their characters, and crazily enough, they all kind of look like them in a way.
SpongeBob finally reached back to Bikini Bottom, where he was wished a happy birthday by all of his biggest celebrity fans and friends at his house. And alas, Patchy the Pirate MET SpongeBob! At first I thought it was a recorded message, but glad it wasn't. It's kind of nice that all of his troubles of trying to see SpongeBob pays off in the end.
Overall, this special was everything I could have asked for and lots more. The plot was a perfect way to celebrate this crazy milestone and the execution of having the real life voice actors play a role was very well suited. I can honestly see SpongeBob lasting for another 20 years, and more after that. I wonder what the 30th, 40th and even 50th anniversary specials will look like. All of those and lots more, and I can't wait for more SpongeBob!
I have been a SpongeBob fan all of my life, so naturally a special such as this one is very important to me. Having SpongeBob's 20th birthday (since its debut) culminate in an hour special with the real life voice actors was something really special. I was not left disappointed.
The episode acknowledged straight away that it was SpongeBob's birthday. It started off with a sweet moment between Gary and SpongeBob and a nice gag with his present being something Gary created with his 'slime.' I absolutely love little moments like those between SpongeBob and Gary.
The main plot was Patrick taking SpongeBob on a tour of the land above water, while Sandy and his friends got the party set up, down at SpongeBob's house. I really like how the tour guy driving the fish tank (which was also really cool and clever) was the same guy that constantly exclaimed 'amazing,' in the episode 'No Pictures Please.' It was a nice touch because in that episode Patrick was the one giving the tour, now it's the other way around.
The side plot also kicked off, and there were several humorous moments as well as callbacks too. The Tattletale Strangler and Mindy attended! I love callbacks and returning characters and there were many spread through out if you looked closely enough. It was great seeing Sandy wanting the party to be as perfect as possible, while everyone else tried to reach agreements on how the party should be set up.
Once SpongeBob reached land, there were a few funny moments, such as David Hasselhoff getting flipped over by the submarine, and the human beings being called 'beach giraffes' I believe it was. Then there was the beans scene...
Ehhh, I'm not sure I really understood it. I was... confused, to say the least. I remember watching it trying so hard to find the punchline or the humor, but I was struggling for sure. It seems this is a common sentiment from others that have watched this special, though I read one take on it and that was the fact that it was possibly supposed to be correlated to Goofy Goober and serve as the 'above water' version of him. I actually really like that idea, but if it's actually the case, I wish they would've made that more clear so the scene could be appreciated more. All in all though, it went on a bit too long and I would have preferred time to other scenes, such as more for the actual voice actors.
One scene I really enjoyed though in particular, that some didn't, was the gorilla scene. I know, it was a bit strange, but it worked for me. For one, it seemed like a nice callback to the gorilla that appeared in 'I Had an Accident,' and the abruptness of turning a supposedly 'serious' business meeting into a crazed gorillas meeting, was so random and worked. I also enjoyed the antics with the dog, and how it eventually stood up straight and made the owner fetch the ball instead. Pure gold.
Then, we finally get to what was most anticipated, The Trusty Slab. Let me start off by saying that Patrick's voice actor, Bill Fagerbakke, was the highlight. All of his lines landed really well, especially the one where Rodger Bumpass (voice of Squidward) asked him something along the lines of, "don't you have to be stupid somewhere" to which Bill responded, "not until four."
Tom Kenny was also very pleasing to watch. I loved the little effects of him making the patties and singing his little song. Clancy Brown did very well as well portraying Mr Krabs and I was left under the same impression Krabs leaves on me; a greedy old boss. I thought it was great seeing Carolyn Lawrence fight off Mr. Lawrence, bringing Sandy's karate side into the mix.
Yes, it could've went on a tad bit longer, but I was super satisfied that this idea actually came into fruition for a SpongeBob special. I was content and fulfilled and it was a real treat getting to see the actors play their characters, and crazily enough, they all kind of look like them in a way.
SpongeBob finally reached back to Bikini Bottom, where he was wished a happy birthday by all of his biggest celebrity fans and friends at his house. And alas, Patchy the Pirate MET SpongeBob! At first I thought it was a recorded message, but glad it wasn't. It's kind of nice that all of his troubles of trying to see SpongeBob pays off in the end.
Overall, this special was everything I could have asked for and lots more. The plot was a perfect way to celebrate this crazy milestone and the execution of having the real life voice actors play a role was very well suited. I can honestly see SpongeBob lasting for another 20 years, and more after that. I wonder what the 30th, 40th and even 50th anniversary specials will look like. All of those and lots more, and I can't wait for more SpongeBob!
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