SpongeBob Expressiveness

EntertainmentFanatic

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Hi, I am sort of new to this website, so I apologize if this is in the wrong section. If it is please let me know. Anyways, I just wanted to have a discussion on what people that about the expressiveness in the characters of recent SpongeBob? (seasons 10 - ) I personally have been really enjoying it, in some ways it feels a bit like pre-movie but it also is a lot more exaggerated compared to pre-movie stuff. So it feels like it's its own defined thing. Reminds me of older cartoons, like Ren and Stimpy, which is a good thing, at least in my books.

Let me know what you think!
 

Dishwater

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Many people who are elitists about seasons 1-3 don’t approve of the stylistic change, but I like it. It really seperates newer seasons from the bunch. I like the Ren & Stimpy vibe recent seasons have been going for, it keeps the show different and fresh.
 

EntertainmentFanatic

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I think it's too over the top, I wish they would tone it down a bit
Respectable, but it just makes it feel more like a cartoony cartoon you know? That's why I love it.
I don't mind the expressions at all, but Season 9B improved the animation.
Yes, the introduction of HD made the animation look a lot better, along with of course the new expressiveness of the characters.
Many people who are elitists about seasons 1-3 don’t approve of the stylistic change, but I like it. It really seperates newer seasons from the bunch. I like the Ren & Stimpy vibe recent seasons have been going for, it keeps the show different and fresh.
Same here, it does separate it, and in a good way. It's just refreshing to look at. As much as I adore the premovie seasons and its own set of stylistic choices, I really like the ways things are now.
 

Grass-Skirt-Chase

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I find the expressive faces that have been overused throughout the past couple of seasons to be absolutely over the top and completely unnecessary. A silly face every so often would be a-okay, but a comical extending of the tongue or popping of the eyes every other freaking scene is purely obnoxious and repetitive. The show has always been one for accepting creative scenes, backgrounds, characters, AND expressions, but constantly throwing viewers meme material just wears out the could-be uniqueness of the faces. SpongeBob SquarePants doesn’t deserve to be littered with taken-for-granted creative liberties that distract from the episodes’ plots (and usually serve as filler). Show artists can be creative, sure, but I don’t believe they should make every new episode of SpongeBob a gosh darn repeat of the infamous “Face Freeze”:

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EntertainmentFanatic

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I find the expressive faces that have been overused throughout the past couple of seasons to be absolutely over the top and completely unnecessary. A silly face every so often would be a-okay, but a comical extending of the tongue or popping of the eyes every other freaking scene is purely obnoxious and repetitive. The show has always been one for accepting creative scenes, backgrounds, characters, AND expressions, but constantly throwing viewers meme material just wears out the could-be uniqueness of the faces. SpongeBob SquarePants doesn’t deserve to be littered with taken-for-granted creative liberties that distract from the episodes’ plots (and usually serve as filler). Show artists can be creative, sure, but I don’t believe they should make every new episode of SpongeBob a gosh darn repeat of the infamous “Face Freeze”:

View attachment 11281
View attachment 11282View attachment 11283
I can see where you're coming from and I definitely respect your opinion but I just love the expressions so much. I guess they could tone them down a little bit but it just makes the episodes feel like really cartoony cartoons, and by that I mean very expressive, because you can only go so far with in live action, animation can take that even further. Anyways, thank you for sharing your opinion!
It doesn't bother me too much, but sometimes they go too far with it.
👍
 

Grass-Skirt-Chase

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I can see where you're coming from and I definitely respect your opinion but I just love the expressions so much. I guess they could tone them down a little bit but it just makes the episodes feel like really cartoony cartoons, and by that I mean very expressive, because you can only go so far with in live action, animation can take that even further. Anyways, thank you for sharing your opinion!

👍

Lately, SpongeBob has been giving us fresher, more cartoony looks that are pretty nice, indeed. Though I did kind of just rant about the expressions, there have been a select few that I’ve found to be really cool/cute-looking. 😍 Here’s a WONDERFUL example of one that’s not over-the-top and just the right amount of cartoony-ness that would be an epic new look for the show:

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If this was Plankton’s new look throughout the rest of the season, I would LOVE it!
 

EntertainmentFanatic

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Lately, SpongeBob has been giving us fresher, more cartoony looks that are pretty nice, indeed. Though I did kind of just rant about the expressions, there have been a select few that I’ve found to be really cool/cute-looking. 😍 Here’s a WONDERFUL example of one that’s not over-the-top and just the right amount of cartoony-ness that would be an epic new look for the show:

View attachment 11291View attachment 11292View attachment 11293

If this was Plankton’s new look throughout the rest of the season, I would LOVE it!
I agree!!
 

Sealand

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I find the expressive faces that have been overused throughout the past couple of seasons to be absolutely over the top and completely unnecessary. A silly face every so often would be a-okay, but a comical extending of the tongue or popping of the eyes every other freaking scene is purely obnoxious and repetitive. The show has always been one for accepting creative scenes, backgrounds, characters, AND expressions, but constantly throwing viewers meme material just wears out the could-be uniqueness of the faces. SpongeBob SquarePants doesn’t deserve to be littered with taken-for-granted creative liberties that distract from the episodes’ plots (and usually serve as filler). Show artists can be creative, sure, but I don’t believe they should make every new episode of SpongeBob a gosh darn repeat of the infamous “Face Freeze”:

View attachment 11281
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The third expression to me feels necessary enough. The First one looks weird but the second one... "WTF is even happening?!"
 

IWumboYouWumbo

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IMO, the exaggerated animation is disgusting and needs to be toned down in the future if the show is going to get any better. In Season 9B it was done well but only because it was kept to a strict limit, but from Season 10 onward I find it as the SpongeBob crew's last resort when they can't think of a good joke.
 

JerryTheSnail

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Any time a character makes a super over the top dumb face just for the sake of making silly faces, I kinda roll my eyes a little, but when the animation is expressive in a way that compliments the character's emotions (like those plankton drawings), it works and I encourage more of that. A good example of expressiveness being used well is the fight scene from ChefBob. It makes the scene more fun to watch, without pushing the silly tex avery/ren and stimpy vibes. I think the silly faces at the beginning of Creature Feature don't really add anything to the episode, it feels more like "Look at how ZANY we are now!!". But I've noticed with the past few episodes they're slowly moving away from that sorta thing and putting the focus on telling fun stories, and using the expressive animation as a tool to heighten the characters' emotions in a fun way rather than just having characters make silly faces for the sake of making silly faces. I LOVE off-model funny faces, but it's more entertaining if they're done in moderation and they serve a comedic purpose. If you look back at early episodes, any time characters make funny off-model faces, it's usually to heighten the impact of a joke rather than to show off the storyboard artists' abilities. The 'too much sauce' face is there to make spongebobs reaction to planktons criticism that much funnier, the joke is written first, the drawing is there to make the joke hit harder. I also think having more deadpan reactions (squidward is probably the best character for that) and more subtle drawings can be just as impactful if not more when it comes to the spongebob brand ofcomedy. That's just my opinion tho, I'm glad they're doing new things with the animation regardless. Updating the animation was a bold creative decision and honestly I'm just happy to see that the spongebob crew is having fun with the show. I say as long as the show is funny and has good writing then I'm happy.
 

EditorWiki

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I am not the biggest fan of the new animation (thought Sandy's Nutty Nieces had good animation) its like Season 1 on LSD, but I would rather take it over the dullness and soulless of Season 6/7/8, It fits perfectly on high action scenes, but the Sunset and Sunshine colors are one of the best in the show by far imo.
 

Original Raw and Uncut

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The person responsible for this is Adam Palion. He's been the show's storyboard artist since 2013, when Sponge Outta Water was still being produced. Apparently he left in April to work on a Netflix series:


So we'll probably have no more wacky faces when his chunk of episodes are done airing
 
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