Spongebob Flanderization

Introduced in 1999 was a cartoon featuring an underwater setting and unique characters based on marine life that would eventually become one of the most popular and recognizable cartoons ever made. Finding an individual who had never heard of the famous show would be a difficult task. Conceived by animator and former marine biologist Stephen Hillenburg, Spongebob Squarepants has left a remarkable impact on cartoons and has firmly placed itself as one of the best cartoons ever made. The series is not without its criticisms, however, as a change in writers around 2004, after a movie, has led to what can be described as a decline in quality, with our beloved characters becoming and almost unrecognizable shadow of their former selves. The drastic …show more content…
A young, hard working, and gleeful Spongebob paired with his old, cheapskate, boss of his fast food job is the setting for many episodes. The major factor of the decline in quality of Spongebob Squarepants is described in the term “flanderization.” Flanderization is the act of taking a character’s trait or action and exaggerating it more and more until it completely consumes the character. This is the case for the downfall of Nickelodeon's most popular cartoon. Spongebob’s amusing goofiness has fallen victim to this trope. Spongebob has been transformed from clever but foolish at times to a character with a complete lack of intelligence. There is a scene in the first Spongebob Squarepants movie, where Spongebob becomes intoxicated on ice cream after not getting a job. (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie) The way he acts intoxicated is very similar to how he is portrayed in the later seasons. Patrick is affected by flanderization in that he loses his ability to deliver an occasional funny quip and is instead dominated by incredible stupidity and is unbearable to watch, similar to most of the newer episodes since 2004. Squidward was the character that could often be