Well, it's happened. A SpongeBob SquarePants episode revolving around a more well-known running gag than one would ever expect has aired....four days ago. Yeah, I know that I'm a little late to be talking about this particular episode, but when I heard about this episode, I just knew I had to see it. Despite how much of a fangirl of this particular show when I was in elementary school, I only watch it casually these days, so I can't really say that I've seen a lot of the modern modern SpongeBob episodes (although I do really want to go see the musical). Now, as for the gag that this episode revolves around, it's a gag that I've noticed when it pops up, but unlike others, I never really paid it too much attention; whatever the case may be, however, it's really not everyday when an episode of a cartoon that revolves around a running gag is made. For that reason, I had to watch it for myself, even if the time I did was a few days after it aired, but the question is, "Exactly how did this particular SpongeBob SquarePants episode do in my eyes?"
Ladies and gentle-
"MY LEG!"
Hey. Worry about your leg later; I'm trying to introduce this review here. Okay, with that out of the way, let's get started with my review of the SpongeBob SquarePants episode, "My Leg!"
In case you're living under a rock (no connections to Patrick Star intended), SpongeBob SquarePants revolves around the optimistic sea sponge of the same name and his misadventures in the fictional underwater town of Bikini Bottom. This season 11 episode of the long-running series revolves around Fred....you know, the background character who screams "MY LEG!" a lot? Apparently, he's been to the hospital for his constant leg injuries enough for his doctor to get fed up and threaten to replace his leg with a robot's leg (I mean an actual robot's leg, not a robot leg); from there, SpongeBob and Patrick end up trying to protect Fred's leg with their usual antics. In a plot twist, however, it turns out that Fred misses going to the hospital due to the fact that he's in love with a nurse; thus, it's up to SpongeBob to find any method possible for Fred to break his leg and be with his lady love!
First of all, I'm going to mention something I've noticed in the modern modern SpongeBob episodes that I have seen, and that is the change in the animation style. Is it just my imagination, or has the animation style gotten more....what's the word....cartoony....at least, more than it was before? I mean, of course, it's not a bad thing; it can actually be beneficial for some gags. Take this episode, for example; many of the gags in this episode, such as the one with the Girl Scout attacking Patrick's leg (yeah, Fred's leg wasn't the only leg injured in this episode), wouldn't look as good if it was animated in the same style as a season like season 5 or 6. Oh, and the voice acting's pretty good, too.
Now, we've all heard something like this before: guys doing stupid stuff in hopes of getting their crush's attention. This episode is no different, but the methods used to get Fred's leg broken were pretty amusing. The rest of the episode was pretty uniquely crafted, from the montage with Fred injuring his leg (which actually starts with a callback to the first time it was used) to the song he sang in the end. The way that everyone referred to his leg in the style of the running gag (and I mean everyone) can be a little annoying at times, but if the episode is supposed to revolve around said gag, I suppose it makes sense. I also liked Fred's characterization; I feel like we get to know more about him in this episode than even in "Jellyfish Hunter"! I was also surprised by the amount of comedic chemistry he had with SpongeBob; it's not perfect chemistry, but it works.
Overall, "My Leg!" was an amusing SpongeBob episode. Anyone who is in the process of creating a cartoon and wants to create an episode out of an already-established running gag could take some notes from this episode. Alright, now to go eat lunch and get to today's other revie-
MY LEG! ....is cramped up from sitting this long.
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