Spongebob Reviews

In the episode that started it all, which became an influence to animators and writers throughout the 2000s going into the 2010s and put its network into full gear, I want to talk about one of the greatest cartoon shows of all time. That show is Spongebob Squarepants. For over 25 years, this show has played a role that inspired and helped shape cartoons in the decades since then for the better or worse. Today I will be discussing the first episode, “Help Wanted” written by the late great creator Stephen Hillenburg alongside Tim Hill and Derek Drymon. The trio had worked on Rocko’s Modern Life, also on Nickelodeon prior until its cancellation. This led to the development of the production of Spongebob. However, ideas and drawings were done by Stephen Hillenburg, inspired by his own previous prototype called SpongeBoy. Two versions of this episode were produced. The original 1997 version that was first pitched which also had a completely different intro. And there’s the 1999 recut version that is recognized by viewers and critics alike today, Plus the original had errors that were corrected by the time the recut was done. Some songs had to be changed, some of the artwork had mistakes that were kept in and the names in the credits were misspelled but later put in the correct spelling. Regardless this remains one of the best episodes in the show.

We start in the beginning with the French narrator, named Frenchy, describing how beautiful Bikini Bottom is before briefly talking about Spongebob. We then see Spongebob wake up, saying his first and iconic line “I’m ready.” He is preparing for a job interview and he feeds his pet snail, Gary. After exiting the house, he is greeted by his friend and neighbor Patrick Star with a cheerful yell of “Go Spongebob.” He sees the Krusty Krab, where he plans to meet with the owner, Mr Eugene H. Krabs. Despite assuring that he will make a good impression, Spongebob backtracks but Patrick stops him, encouraging him to get the job he had been waiting for. He does, with his other neighbor and resident grump Squidward Tentacles noticing and panics. Upon entering, Spongebob approaches Mr. Krabs and asks him for a job with the hope of Squidward vouching for him. Squidward pulls Mr. Krabs aside and says no. However he gives Spongebob a task of finding a hydrodynamic spatula which he believes does not exist. Spongebob goes looking for it, with Krabs happily reminding Squidward that they will never see him again. So he goes into the Barg’N-Mart to look for the item. During this time, Squidward and Krabs have to deal with five busloads of anchovies entering the Krusty Krab, as his own iconic scene says that he knew that they were coming. The crowd are hungry and Squidward tries his best to calm them down, but it is no use. The anchovies decide to wreck the place, with Squidward and Krabs panicking. Then a miracle arrives when Spongebob comes in with the only available hydrodynamic spatula. In this montage with the song “Living In the Sunlight. Loving In the Moonlight” by Tiny Tim playing, Spongebob cooks up several patties one by one to each anchovy. They are satisfied and depart from the Krusty Krab. Mr. Krabs is also happy by what he saw coming from Spongebob and he hires him on the spot, while Squidward is not happy about it. Patrick enters the restaurant and Squidward is not happy to see him. Patrick asks for a Krabby patty and Spongebob makes a bunch of them, shooting Patrick out of the place, with Squidward trying to get Spongebob into trouble.

Upon its release, it became a worldwide sensation with over 200 episodes and several films coming out afterwards. Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass and Clancy Brown were the only actors here until the succeeding segment of “Tea at the Treedome” which featured Carolyn Lawrence’s debut as Sandy Cheeks. The four leads later performed a live reading of the script in 2013 and 2024 when the show turned 25.