RJ Writing Ink

Jay’s Month of Screams, Day 31- Spongebob Squarepants

Alright, boys and ghouls, are you ready for Halloween? I know I am, thanks to my month of screams! I’ve had a blast talking about all the specials, movies, and scary web shows I’ve watched all October, and before it ends, I wanted to share one of my favorites. It’s a classic Halloween special from one of the greatest cartoons of all time. First, though, I need you guys to answer a question: who live nears a graveyard under the sea? SPONGEBOB SCAREDYPANTS!

Spongebob Scaredypants

Fed up with being the easiest person in to scare in Bikini Bottom, Spongebob decides to do the scaring on Halloween. So he dresses up as the Flying Dutchman, and after a quick shave courtesy of Patrick, he tries to get rid of his embarrassing nickname for good.

As kids, we could all sympathize with Spongebob’s desire to not be so scared on Halloween. Halloween’s about getting scared, yes, but it’s supposed to be in good fun. Therefore, not being able to enjoy it is the worst.

Unfortunately for him, Spongebob’s flimsy idea of a scary costume doesn’t scare anyone. At best, it confuses people to see someone run around with a sheet over him. That’s the joke, though, so it’s pretty funny.

Spongebob Scares Everyone

Taking said joke to its logical conclusion, Spongebob and Patrick try to crash the Halloween party at the Krusty Krab. However, thanks to a jellyfish sting, the operation goes belly up; or pants up. I know it may be a bit mean, but even I couldn’t help but laugh at Spongebob’s failure.

The first appearance of the Flying Dutchman was the perfect level of scary for me as a kid. He looked and sounded terrifying, but Brian Doyle-Murray knew how to ham it up so that kids could like him. However, that made his reaction to the sight of what’s underneath Spongebob’s costume even funnier.

While the sight of Spongebob’s brain was weird, I was too young to fully understand how weird it was. Besides, I liked everyone’s reactions.

Scaredypants Was An Instant Classic

It’s been twenty years since Spongebob premiered on Nickelodeon. Even two decades on, “Spongebob Scaredypants” remains one of my favorite Halloween specials. It’s got all the hallmarks of what would make Spongebob a legendary cartoon. The humor, the voice acting, even the music all blend perfectly to create a 90s classic. I watch it every Halloween, and I hope that it remains a classic for years to come.

Click here to see the FANDOM Article I did for Halloween last year.

Click here to see my other animation stuff. Or here to see all holiday related posts.

Jay’s Month of Screams, Day 16- Rocko’s Modern Life

Ever since I started this month long event, I’ve made a conscious effort to avoid using any of the examples I used for FANDOM. Yet I can no longer put off using this next one because it’s so good. It’s Rocko’s Modern Life: Sugar Frosted Frights.

On Halloween night, everyone is excited for candy and costumes, except for Filburt. Thanks to his Halloween-hating Aunt Gretchen and her stories about the infamous Hopping Hessian, the poor turtle’s in fear of the holiday. So Rocko and Heffer decide to teach him about the joys of Halloween.

However, it turns out giving someone who’s never tasted candy before can backfire horribly. Filburt goes into what I can only describe as a G-Rated drug trip, which is something that a show like Rocko would be willing to allude to. Seeing Filburt devolve into a sugar-crazed state is disturbing, but what takes the cake is the hallucination where he turns into a giant demon. The older fans may recognize it as a parody of the famous Chernabog scene from Fantasia. It has the music for Night on Bald Mountain playing, which only adds to the scene.

Once Filburt comes down from his sugar-high, though, we get a real treat in the Hopping Hessian. One of my favorite stories to read around Halloween is Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The Hopping Hessian is a silly, yet still scary, parody of the Headless Horseman. Plus the ending is pretty funny.

I recommended this special in my article on FANDOM, and I still think that it was a good decision. Sugar Frosted Frights is awesome, and the Hopping Hessian is fun. The real lesson learned here, though, is never listen to Crazy Aunt Gretchen. Happy Halloween!

Click here to see the FANDOM Article I did for Halloween last year. Click here to see my other animation stuff. Or here to see all holiday related posts.