Modern SpongeBob episodes heavily rely on bouncy, exaggerated, cartoony expressions, and animation. This episode is probably when this animation is at its best. The animation in this episode is really impressive if you ask me. There are a lot of well done movements and faces made by Patrick, which I really felt made up for the lack of comedy in this episode. Sure, there were some funny jokes (Like how Patrick got the handshake for SpongeBob in the end), but most of the episode relied on visual humor, which I can appreciate. I really do think the visuals are at their best in this episode, if you ask me. Primarily during the 2nd half of the episode. Once Patrick arrives to the Ice Cream place, the visuals are really good, not only in Patrick, but also in the scenery, and that's something really enjoyable to witness. I also really like the visuals while Patrick dueled with the Ice Cream king, I think that was well choreographed.
Now, let's talk about the plot of the episode. The episode's plot seems pretty generic. It feels like a plot you'd find in a Mickey Mouse Works Cartoon (Though the execution isn't nearly as incredible as the Mickey Mouse Works Cartoons). The plot is pretty weak, and doesn't seem to be that special, but rather forced. I don't think the plot really picked up until the climax of the episode, in which Patrick dueled with the Ice Cream King, but by then, the majority of the episode was nothing but a weak, predictable plot. Sure, the animation is great, but that's more of a distraction from the lame plot. The concept is really weak in my opinion, and the execution of it seemed mediocre. I would've rather had Patrick go on some sort of quest to find the Ice Cream King, a big grand adventure, rather than witness him going around trying to keep his coupon for himself.
The characters in this episode are well rounded. Patrick is caring, and tries to do everything he can to get an ice cream for his best buddy. Squidward is a great character in this episode, and I'm really glad he stood up for Patrick when Krabs was about to scam him. The Ice Cream King is a delightful, jolly character, and is a perfect shadow of Patrick's character. Now, the rest of the characters aren't that good in my opinion. SpongeBob comes off as a very forced character, and seems to speak things with lots of exposition. Not every moment needs to be a crazy animated moment. You can have those, as they are enjoyable to watch, but having them for moments when they're unnecessary, that's overkill. Krabs is a predictable scoundrel in this episode, and I feel as if his scene was just meant to kill time (Or at least set up Patrick's skeptical nature regarding other people and his coupon). I would've much rather had Krabs scene be either much shorter, or not exist at all within the episode. The background characters are alright, nothing too special came out of them.
The jokes...ugh...
I think the statement that Season 10 is unfunny, due to the lack of dialogue based humor has really gotten to my head. It's really all I think about whenever I'm judging the humor in an episode, and I think that kind of taints the episode in my opinion. Regardless though, the animation is so great, and comically drawn in this episode, that I think it really makes up for the lack of jokes. Sometimes the animation itself is just funny, so it does help fill in the gap of the lack of jokes. Other jokes seem very forced in this episode, like they appear because "Story demands they do so". The only type of humor that wasn't driven from animation in this episode that I remember easily, is the cheesy puns used during the battle sequence. Oh yeah, did I mention I really like the battle sequence?
The beginning of the episode starts off very well. A battle between Patrick and the Sea-Spider was great! It was exciting, well animated, and even some visual gags came off of it as well. It was very entertaining. Then, things start to drag on, and progress hardly, once Patrick states he is going to get SpongeBob an icecream. These parts are so forced, it is painful to watch. I don't find any entertaining value out of these parts, they were ultimately unfunny, and slowly paced. Once Krabs scared Patrick, Patrick is on alert. These scenes are
meh. Nothing too special comes out of these scenes, I guess they're impressive visually, but the amount of entertainment that comes out of them otherwise isn't that good. Finally, things pick up once Patrick approaches the Ice Cream place (Which I have previously praised for its stunning scenery). This scene is pretty good, but then Patrick's coupon is revealed to be...EXPIRED!?
What is he to do!? Things do start to get interesting, as an employee tells Patrick about...the ice cream king!
You know, as cool as the ice cream place was, I think this episode missed out on an opportunity to include Goofy Goober's Ice Cream Parlor. Anyway, Patrick makes his way into the home of the Ice Cream King. This part was so visually entertaining, goodness, I love the visuals in these scenes. That being said, if it weren't for the animation, it'd feel like a poorly paced, awkward exchange between two characters from a Season 6 episode. Now, there are definitely funny gags in these scenes. The "Glasses" gag is really funny, and I did like the sprinkle gag. Now, the fight was easily the highlight of the episode. I really did like seeing Patrick and the King battling similar to how Patrick wanted to battle the spider from earlier (A little foreshadowing?). Ultimately, the battle contains a missed opportunity. There could've been a callback to Krabby Road, with Patrick growing hair on demand, like he did in that episode. It's a shame, because the result of what happens isn't any better than what could've been done. Patrick returns to SpongeBob's house, and hey! SpongeBob has the ice cream for no explained reason! That's all folks!
So ultimately, I feel this episode was nothing but missed opportunity. Sure, there were good moments, and I still adore the animation in this episode, but this episode could've been a lot better if certain things were done differently (Let's say, make the coupon not the main focus of the episode, but rather focus on Patrick looking for the Ice Cream King? An adventure like that would've been incredible). There really aren't any jokes in this episode, but the animation can be comical at times.
Ultimately, it's an
Okay Episode. I notice a lot of people really seem to like this episode, so I guess this time, I'm the odd one out.
I give it a 6.5/10.