My Episode Review on It's a SpongeBob Christmas

Merry Christmas, my friends.

This is your top-of-the-line film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.

Today, for my 1st review on an installment of the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise, and for the 7th installment of this year's Christmas Craze", I'm gonna give you guys my take of "It's a SpongeBob Christmas!"

Here's the summary of it:

The season of giving is upon Bikini Bottom, and the town's residents are bustling with excitement, especially SpongeBob.

However, in another attempt to acquire the secret Krabby Patty formula, Plankton bakes fruit cake that's filled with a powerful element called Jerktonium to make everyone into jerks, the intention being to make Santa think everyone else is naughty while Plankton's nice.

Can SpongeBob put a stop to Plankton's scheme before it's too late? Or will Plankton finally get the formula?

I'd like to be honesty with you guys. This likely wasn't the best way to make my debut of reviewing installments of "SpongeBob SquarePants". But, with the Christmas season being here, and considering the fact that this was the first SpongeBob special to be stop-motion animated, I couldn't get reviewing this episode out of my head.

I remember enjoying this special as a child, really. As a matter of fact, I don't think I had any problems with it back then. Now that I'm older, though...I've found myself feeling more neutral towards it than anything else.

For instance, the animation was generally so-so.

I get that Nickelodeon was trying to shake things up a bit by making this holiday special stop-motion animated instead of hand-drawn, and I admire their willingness to experiment. However, the change in style felt a lot more jarring than fun, and it seemed to be lacking the sense of accomplishment and passion that hand-drawn animated SpongeBob episodes often have.

The story by Luke Brookshier, Marc Ceccarelli, Derek Iversen, and Mr. Lawrence, and the direction by Brookshier, Ceccarelli, Alan Smart, Seamus Walsh, and Mark Caballero weren't the most impressive either.

Among the biggest problems was that the team didn't create the most original or ambitious story of the series, as it had a certain sense that someone else already did this kind of story before.

It features SpongeBob trying to spread the joy of Christmas, before later trying to save it after noticing that everyone in Bikini Bottom was naughty. In a way, the episode was retreading off of other “We’ve Gotta Save Christmas” storylines, and while it did try taking a different approach to the concept, everything ultimately became underwhelming in the process. As for the subplot about Patchy & Potty trying to find Santa’s workshop, I didn’t think it was anything to really get engaged by. Patchy’s drive to somehow meet SpongeBob wasn’t anything new, so it’s not like they were breaking any new ground with it.

On top of that, much of the appeal that generated the series's pre-teen and older fanbase appeared to be missing. The comedy was flat and uninspired instead of funny, and I hardly found any kind of heartfelt or emotional moment.

The episode did have its positives, though, which definitely saved it from being completely terrible.

With the exception of Squidward (who seemed too heartless even for himself), the characters were as lovable and fun to hang with as ever. Especially SpongeBob himself, whose innocence and kindness was a heartwarming thing to see. The vocal performances were also excellent. Of all the regular cast members, the ones who gave the best performances were Tom Kenny as SpongeBob and Carolyn Lawrence as Sandy. Also, while I wasn’t a fan of this episode’s take on Santa Claus, and despite feeling that John Goodman was relatively underused as the voice of the character, I still enjoyed Goodman’s guest appearance regardless.

The music and songs that were featured in this episode were quite melodious, if I may add.

As a matter of fact, I couldn't help but have tons of fun with "Don't be a Jerk (It's Christmas)". I love how morally inspired the song was, and how much the lyrics perfectly fit one another in a funny and catchy way.

In the end, "It's a SpongeBob Christmas" will definitely please the youngest of audiences and SpongeBob fans, but for adults and older fans of the show...eh, I don't think so.

So, I rate "It's a SpongeBob Christmas" three out of five stars.