Square Pants vs. Teletubbies
Written: Jun 22 '00 (Updated Aug 23 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: It's the humor, stupid
Cons: It's just plain stupid
The Bottom Line: It's just funny, dammit.
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| wivabef's Full Review: SpongeBob SquarePants |
I am a closet Spongebob groupie. I can no longer drive past a seafood restaurant without breaking into the theme song. I can't use a yellow cleaning sponge without laughing. And I have a new respect for plankton.
It has taken me quite some time to come to terms with my love for Spongebob Squarepants. I am so fiercely against the little lint balls on PBS known as Teletubbies because it is stupid, stupid, stupid. Yet what is Spongebob Squarepants? A sponge the jumps into his harnessed squarepants to go work at Crusty Crab as a fry cook? A squirrel from Texas who lives under the sea like the Boy in the Plastic Bubble? A starfish that wears OP style shorts and lives under a rock? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! But... FUNNY.
Ah! There lies the rub.
Watching Teletubbies is like watching a formation of refrigerator magnets on an opium trip. Spongebob is just funny. Looney Toons without the ACME torture products.
Spongebob and his sidekick Patrick Starfish are annoying neighbors to a highly intelligent, mediocre clarinet playing squid who is part Frasier/part Bert without Ernie. Their innocent, friendly need to be part of Squidward's life and his disdain for it all is a comedy.
There are many characters that are so highly stylized it's a hoot -- from Mr. Crab, the restaurant owner who loves money almost as much as his square headed whale/daughter Pearl. Sandy, the squirrel-girl astronaut who lives in Bikini bottom (I don't know why) who is the voice of reason (yet, she's a squirrel living under the ocean, so, again, I don't know why). And my favorite -- Plankton, the evil purveyor of the Chum Bucket, a not so popular restaurant -- who is always seeking out the recipe for Crusty Crab's Crabby Patty. He is, well, a one-eyed tiny plankton, far too big for his little flagellant bearing britches.
In one memorable episode, Spongebob travels into his Bikini Bottom neighbors' dreams and hence, turns them into nightmares. I won't break into all of them, but one features the raahter dimwitted starfish, Patrick. His dream has him riding a grocery store children's ride. Spongebob suggests that this is a dream, and Patrick could dream of anything, anything in the whole world. Spongebob gets bored an leaves. When the ride ends, Patrick just sits there, out of quarters. "Tartersauce!" he exclaims (this is an expression of disappointment my 6 year old daughter has begun to use quite frequently).
See, now I'm reading over that and it's not funny. It's stupid, stupid, stupid. But I can't explain the visuals. The vacant look, the goofy voice overs, the silly extortionist things that happen to bodies as only can happen in a cartoon. It's just funny, dammit. I'm hitting myself over and over again for loving it, but it's just funny. Funny like John Belushi's "I'm a zit" line. Funny like Daffy Duck in a tizzy with his beak on backwards.
It's safe for kids. There is no sex, no gun play, no taking themselves too seriously. I don't imagine the creators of Spongebob Squarepants would dare call this educational programming. But, here's the meat of it. Don't you love it when your child gets a giggle fit because they put a sticker on their nose or because they pulled their uncle's finger? Spongebob brings out the melodic peal of their laughter. And they'll love that they can share it with their parents, who are also laughing.
I'd much rather go Jelly Fishing with my child than wait my turn for that godawful Tubby Custard machine to spit out that pink caulking for four stoned teletubbies.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
wivabef
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Location: Land of jousting and blue crabs
Reviews written: 74
Trusted by: 65 members
About Me:
Still on a cleaning sabbatical.
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