What if SpongeBob's Animation Was More Stylized and Backgrounds Changed More?

I think the closest thing I've seen to more stylized, graphic poses used on the show would either have to be that Craig Kellman UPA esque sequence in "Truth or Square" and some of the episodes Chris Reccardi freelanced on but this is something I've been thinking about for quite a while now.

What if after the first movie, the show decided to gradually take on a much more stylized look (not exactly full on like with Dexter's Lab or PPG but to the point where the characters would be more angular and stuff, basically the kind of stylization Chuck Jones and Frank Tashlin experimented with in their theatrical cartoons back in the 1940s, especially with the backgrounds or in the early UPA Fox and Crow and Mr. Magoo shorts though I can imagine to save even more money, they could take a Jay Ward or Hanna-Barbera route but that's another story).

Personally, I would have rather much preferred something like that to what we ended up getting in Season 6 or the blander animation afterwards. It wouldn't be immediate or anything but the character designs would gradually get to that point where there could be a lot more experimentation not just in the poses but the backgrounds as well in context with the show, which I think have remained pretty static for so many seasons of the show's run. I can even imagine more cubist backgrounds being tried on the show. I know that might not exactly work but I've always had this vision in my mind of what SB would be like if this were all true.

Nah, it'd look too different to the point where it didn't look like the same universe. Maybe they could experiment with new locations, but all of the regular parts of Bikini Bottom should be left unchanged.

Supmandude said:

Nah, it'd look too different to the point where it didn't look like the same universe. Maybe they could experiment with new locations, but all of the regular parts of Bikini Bottom should be left unchanged.

Click to expand...

I think I'd like that idea too. Maybe what I'm suggesting is pretty radical for the show to take and might make people mad cause they're not used to that kind of change. As I was saying though, the stylization wouldn't go too far, but at least some more corners and angles on the characters here and there.

I'm just remembering earlier cartoons that constantly experimented with their visuals as they went along and kind of remembered how Ren and Stimpy experimented a lot with backgrounds and even delved into stylized drawing in later episodes.

They should just make it look like Chuck Jones style for all I care.

I didn't understand a whit of that... :P

#WhyPopeye'sAnAnimatorAndI'mNot

RedSoxFan274 said:

I didn't understand a whit of that... :P

#WhyPopeye'sAnAnimatorAndI'mNot

Click to expand...

I'm not even an animator but I was once told by a professional animate that if I had tried animating yet. I guess that doesn't count. :P

I'd prefer they keep the main show in familiar territory (and by that I don't mean bland and boring, I just mean the same general style that it's always been) but it would be interesting to see different styles in another context. A side project or series of stand-alone shorts. I enjoy the comics a lot because they are so varied. It would be amazing to see some of the comic artists' unique styles animated.

DadMom AngryPants said:

I'd prefer they keep the main show in familiar territory (and by that I don't mean bland and boring, I just mean the same general style that it's always been) but it would be interesting to see different styles in another context. A side project or series of stand-alone shorts. I enjoy the comics a lot because they are so varied. It would be amazing to see some of the comic artists' unique styles animated.

Click to expand...

I think I'd love that too. The new Mickey Mouse shorts are great but they're also short tributes to the original shorts so a lot of the experimentation works there.

Maybe an episode where they sort of acknowledge they're in a different words of animation? Fairy Oddparent's Channel Chasers episode did a similar thing.

DadMom AngryPants said:

I'd prefer they keep the main show in familiar territory (and by that I don't mean bland and boring, I just mean the same general style that it's always been) but it would be interesting to see different styles in another context. A side project or series of stand-alone shorts. I enjoy the comics a lot because they are so varied. It would be amazing to see some of the comic artists' unique styles animated.

Click to expand...

There was a Futurama episode where they had a bunch of different art styles (rubber hose, 8-bit, and anime), maybe they could do something like that with SpongeBob.

Supmandude said:

There was a Futurama episode where they had a bunch of different art styles (rubber hose, 8-bit, and anime), maybe they could do something like that with SpongeBob.

Click to expand...

that Futurama one was awesome

SB_DW_Fan said:

that Futurama one was awesome

Click to expand...

Agreed.