Logic Girl
The Recap page for "Dying for Pie" claims that it has Aesops too. I doubt any of them are valid:
- An Aesop:
- Sometimes, the best gift you can give someone is your time and friendship.
- The best gifts are made by you.
- On a less glurge-y note, make sure the things you give and receive aren't dangerous.
- Just because you don't like a person doesn't mean you shouldn't worry about their well-being.
- Death can be a sudden and unexpected event, as Spongebob “goes out” before Squidward is even halfway past his countdown.
Angry babby
I don't think the episode is meant to teach any particular lesson. They're probably all cutworthy but might be movable to Accidental Aesop.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
The closest thing to an Aesop I can think of is "Don't give bombs as presents." That whole "the best gifts can't be bought" can maybe fit Accidental Aesop but that's about it.
KIRBY CAR
On Awesome.Sponge Bob Square Pants, there's...uh...this:
- Can we just appreciate how freaking jacked Sandy can become sometimes, seemingly becoming that ripped by pure willpower? I mean, dang, s
◊h◊e◊ is freaking huge!
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I can only describe this as "gushing with a really bad chained sinkhole and First-Person Writing."
Edited by ChillyBeanBAM on Jun 20th 2022 at 8:48:27 AM
he/him
Now a lurker. Thanks for everything. | he/him
Appears to also be one-handed troping. I think it can be cut, though I'd wait for consensus first.
(she/her)
Yeah, I would just cut that for the above reasons
Macron's notes
low-poly Shinri
So I was browsing the Funny Subpage of the The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, and I noticed theres a lot of ZCEs
She/Her | Currently cleaning N/A
Back again with a bunch of Aesops that aren't really there. For now here's the ones for seasons 1-3.
- Opposite Day: Don't make any attempts to goad someone into altering his/her traits. It can backfire and get the person to act even worse than what you intended.
- Scaredy Pants: Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but make sure you do your research on who you're pretending to be, lest they end up getting offended.
- Something Smells:
- Check your hygiene (in this case, breath) before you leave your house or else you will unintentionally drive people away.
- Never assume the worst about yourself without proper evidence backing it up.
- There's power in pride.
- Telling stupid stories can often make a bad situation worse.
- Watch what you eat. Certain foods have strong odors.
- Wormy:
- Don't assume the worst about something; and don't cause public panic because of it.
- A butterfly is just a grown-up caterpillar, not a monster that ate it.
- Just because you’ve never seen something before doesn’t mean that it’s dangerous.
- Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy III:
- When you're put in charge of something, be responsible and take care of it per their instructions.
- Don't mess around with things you don't know or understand, as it can be dangerous.
- You can't change people. Except maybe through harassment/torture.
- Similarly, sometimes Violence Really Is the Answer. Man Ray only behaved after being tickled.
- If you want someone to do as you say, having the power to justify your authority is necessary.
- Don't go blindly trusting a villain who says they are "reformed".
- Shanghaied:
- If a place looks dangerous, it’s best to stay away.
- Don't annoy and/or enrage someone who clearly can hurt you. Or send you to an alternate dimension.
- Gary Takes a Bath:
- Listen to your family members when they tell you to do something.
- If somebody doesn't wanna do something, don't force them to.
- Take a bath. It's simple hygiene.
- Considering that snails are supposed to be the analogues for cats in the Sponge Bob universe, know how different species groom themselves. Don't assume they all cleanse the same way.
- Graveyard Shift:
- Don't overreact to scary stories.
- Be sensitive when telling ghost stories. Some people may take them as reality.
- Don't blindly believe in urban legends.
- Squid on Strike:
- Workers should be able to go on strike for your job if your employer is not being fair to you and your co-workers.
- If you mistreat your employees, expect bad things to happen to your business.
- Club SpongeBob:
- Fortune-telling devices are not the Gospel. Ignore them and don't take them so seriously.
- Don't assume literal warnings are insults. There genuinely wasn't enough room for Squidward in the club at first.
- Doing Time: If someone you like gets sent to jail, don't try to break them out. That will only make things worse.
- No Weenies Allowed:
- Don't try to do something you are obviously unprepared or ill-equipped to do.
- Sometimes, you just have to take a hint and leave. As Reg was right all along, Sponge Bob barely got inside, and he already injured himself.
- Krusty Krab Training Video:
- Learning the basics and rules of your new job is very important.
- Be patient during a presentation. Sometimes, there’s going to be a lot of boring stuff before your favorite part.
- Be patient with difficult customers. Even if Patrick's behavior was annoying, Squidward was obligated to be patient with him as a cashier.
- Clams: Don't drag other people down with you in your issues. Asking for help is one thing, but don't force them or guilt-trip them into helping you.
- Plankton's Army: Working with others is often much more effective than working alone.
Most of these are at best an Accidental Aesop (Opposite Day, Shanghaied, Wormy) or just plain aren't there to begin with (Something Smells, Training Video). Some of the eps (like MMBB3) have maybe one or two actual aesops but the rest are just reading too deeply.
Edited by SpongeBat1 on Sep 3rd 2022 at 2:06:46 AM
I think maybe for KKTV, we could keep the "Be patient during a presentation" part, given that the episode featured SpongeBob repeatedly begging to make a Krabby Patty as the narrator kept telling him to be patient and learn other important things first.
Yeah, all of those seem really bad. The typical "Aesop because it is a kids' cartoon."
I wouldn't even say the Traning Video episode has an aesop. The whole "be patient" was mostly a running gag. I may, may, say that Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy could actually count as an aesop on how people can actually change... But that is in none of the examples, so yeah, I would vote to delete them all.
Unofficial co-Wiki Curator for Magnificent Bastard
YMMV.Sponge Bob Square Pants S 6 E 1 House Fancy Krabby Road has an entire section dedicated to the infamous Toenail scene for some reason.
MB Pending | MB Drafts | MB Dates
That seems unnecessary, and I think some of the examples shoehorned into that section are misuse or low context.
No longer active.
Was referred here from the Recap cleanup thread, and from a cursory glance it seems that shoehorned An Aesop examples in the SpongeBob recap pages is a regularly-visited issue here. The ones I brought up in the Recap thread come from Recap.Sponge Bob Square Pants S 4 E 7:
"Enemy in-Law"
- An Aesop: A person you dislike could one day become a family member.
"Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy VI: The Motion Picture":
- An Aesop:
- Don't try to pass off low-budget home movies as big blockbusters.
- Just because a movie about real people doesn't have them being played by themselves doesn't make it bad.
- Even if a movie doesn't turn out right and nobody likes it, be proud of it if your family and friends, the cast and crew, or the person you made it for likes it.
- If you aren't a movie producer/director/writer, don't try to compete with the professionals. Your lack of resources inevitably are going to put you at a massive disadvantage.
I myself am leaning towards cutting them, but it'd be good to know what others think. Be kind.
Yeah, Spongebob has a problem of just putting aesops where they don't belong. And the last one seems horrible. "Don't ever try to be creative because big studios are already better"? Wow. But even disregarding that, they are all just shoehorns and should be cut.
No longer active.
Alright, cut them out and cited this thread.
Honestly, it's not just SpongeBob, I've noticed some shoehorned Aesops on Rugrats recaps too.
I actually started a sandbox to try and clean up the SpongeBob ones.
Anyway, these are on Krabby Land/The Camping Episode:
Krabby Land
- An Aesop:
- Corporations that try to look friendly and appeal to kids only want your money.
- Always prioritize customer satisfaction over profit.
- Conning your costumers can result in unpleasant consequences for you and your business.
The Camping Episode:
- An Aesop:
- When going away from home, know what to do and pack necessities.
- Listen to warnings.
- You don't need to go to the wild or even a campsite to camp.
Logic Girl
- "Krabby Land" may have had an anti-greed Aesop, but I don't think so; I think it was just Mr. Krabs's stinginess as a plot point. I definitely don't think it was trying to say that all children's entertainment businesses are nothing but money-grubbing scams.
- I don't think "The Camping Episode" was meant to have a moral at all. I think the fact that the Sea Bear turned out to exist despite all the info on it being all crazy was part of the joke. And "camping doesn't have to be in the wild" isn't even a moral at all.
This is on Sponge Bob Square Pants S 1 E 2 Bubblestand Ripped Pants:
- Bottle Episode: The entire episode takes place at Goo Lagoon.
Is the big musical number at the end enough to disqualify it from being a Bottle Episode?
Edited by TheRandomSurfboard on Jan 20th 2023 at 9:26:58 AM
She / Her
At best, that's zero-context because it doesn't explain the part of Bottle Episode in which the episode is made to cost as little as possible.
There is a (dormant) thread that talks about issues with the whole definition of Bottle Episode, if anyone is interested.
YMMV.Sponge Bob Square Pants S 5 E 18 What Ever Happened To Sponge Bob
- Designated Hero: SpongeBob takes his friends' insults too seriously and leaves town, causing it to collapse into chaos without anyone to cook Krabby Patties. As mayor of New Kelp City, he repeals a law that was enacted to keep the town safe, turning it into a burning wasteland. He flees the city and goes back to his fry cooking job. SpongeBob made two cities descend into anarchy over the course of a day and never faces any punishment.
Heavy dose of sarcasm aside, I think the story being all SpongeBob's fault is the least commonly held opinion on this episode.
- Designated Monkey: Some believe that the actions that cause people to get angry with SpongeBob, from breaking Gary's shell by hugging him, to knocking Patrick over and ruining his mom's cake, to getting stuck in pottery and knocking Mr. Krabs and his money into the deep fryer, are a little too conveniently-placed together, on top of everyone, especially Patrick of all people, specifically calling SpongeBob "idiot boy." In fact, the only reason why SpongeBob ruined Sandy's robot is because he was wearing his water helmet with an opening on the top, when he has a water helmet that covers up the top.
This seem confusing; who is the monkey in this instance? Then there's the Weasel Words.
- Designated Villains: The Bubble Poppin' Boys have a good reason for not wanting bubbles to be blown: the soap can irritate peoples' eyes. One of them even explains this to SpongeBob, and in the end, the citizens of New Kelp City panic from being blinded by bubbles. It's also mentioned that they have a charter (which needs to be granted legally) that prohibits bubbles in the city. So while they are intimidating, they're merely upholding the law, and there are disastrous results after they're kicked out.
I don't remember them too well, but weren't they being Jerkasses about it? It's like saying the police didn't do anything wrong by strangling someone to death because they were "upholding the law".
Edited by PlasmaPower on May 21st 2023 at 12:12:34 PM
Thomas fans needed! Come join me in the the show's cleanup thread!
She / Her
I agree the Designated Hero entry doesn't count since it wasn't SpongeBob's fault (or at the very least not entirely his fault) all that happened. I also agree the Designated Villain example can be cut too, partly since they're not supposed to be villains in the first place. Moreover, the entry sounds more like Jerkass Has a Point or Cassandra Truth to me.
KIRBY CAR
Cross-posting from the BLAM cleanup thread, these Big-Lipped Alligator Moment entries are on YMMV.Sponge Bob Square Pants:
- Big-Lipped Alligator Moment:
- The Davy Jones cameo in "SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One."
- Subverted with Nosferatu. His appearance in "Graveyard Shift" indeed comes out of nowhere, but he plays a role in the plot of "The Night Patty," approving SpongeBob to be a replacement cook during the night shift.
- The live-action "old folk from a soda commercial" gag seen in "Sun Bleached", done in a similar style to a Family Guy Cutaway Gag.
- The werewolf scene from "The Great Patty Caper". Came out of nowhere? Check! Added nothing to the plot? Check! Was never mentioned again? Check!
- In-universe (or meta) example from "I Had an Accident" that involves a gorilla with no real build up to the gorilla, and the fact the gorilla and some zebra were up to something made it more of a BLAM. The meta example comes in at the end where the family is sitting there dumbfounded and they turn off the TV, though at least it was Lampshaded.
- The perfume department scene in "Shanghaied".
- During a scene in "The Chaperone" in which the prom is dancing (and injuring themselves) trying to do "The Sponge", one of the fish gets chased by a giant apple. The apple was never shown before or after the scene in question, and was most likely included for Rule of Funny.
- The face on the hot sauce drop in "Karate Choppers".
- "All That Glitters": Once SpongeBob becomes naked to pay for a high-class spatula, he stays naked for the rest of the episode. Aside from some disturbed reactions from passersby, it's not commented on or resolved, even at the end where he reunites with his old spatula.
- The mailman scene from "Boating Buddies".
- In "Sponge-Cano!" some garbage creatures come out of the trash can and start singing with SpongeBob.
- The air from SpongeBob's inflatable muscles just randomly moving to different parts of his body near the end of "MuscleBob BuffPants". While it does show off that SpongeBob's muscles were fake, the scene is never commented on or acknowledged afterward.
- In "Squidferatu", when SpongeBob and Squidward are in Nosferatu's coffin room, five coffins come out of the ground and start dancing to jazz music. Vampires come out, say "Nosferatu two-step!", and then go back into the ground. The scene has no impact on the episode, wasn't foreshadowed, and comes out of nowhere.
Okay, so the Davy Jones cameo, the soda commercial gag, the perfume department scene, the hot sauce drop, the mailman scene, and the garbage creatures all lack context. As for the other ones, the werewolf scene is infested with "check" list word cruft; for Nosferatu, YMMV cannot be played with; and for the gorilla one, I'm pretty sure we don't list in-universe examples on YMMV pages. For the remaining ones, would they count as BLAMs or no?
he/him
Found this on SpongeBob SquarePants under Broken Base:
- While the fanbase as a whole accepts Hillenburg's word that Spongebob is asexual, fans are split on how to interpret what he said. Some fans think he's not true ace representation and think Hillenburg was only referring to the biological fact that some sea sponges are asexual. Others don't think he counts because Hillenberg was only doing it to shut up gay rumors. Some asexual fans of the show however, gladly embrace Spongebob's ace status and think that having one of the most kind, friendly and popular characters in all of cartoons also be asexual is great representation. Of course, to make things even more complicated, other fans say that Spongebob isn’t truly ace, and they tend to point out that there are episodes that show that Spongebob is indeed capable of romantic attraction, such as "To Love A Patty" (granted, the love in that episode is…unusual, but it still shows that Spongebob is capable of expressing romantic feelings for something or someone regardless).
Ignoring the fact that not all ace people are aromatic, does this come across as looking like it could be shortened to anyone else besides me?
Is that even an aesop? It's just what happens when people have a mid-life crisis: they try and change their life around, often taking risks or recapturing their youth. It's not a lesson at all, Mr. Krabs is just following the stereotype without doing obvious things like buying a new car (boat?).
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