228a. Fun-Sized Friends

Klu

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Not bad episode, but still "meh". I didn't find this episode annoying, just... Lacking in comedy.
But I give credit to this episode, it has one REALLY hilarious line from Patrick, few amusing gags, not bad conflict and original plot.
So, yeah, 6/10.
 

Squidwardiard

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I liked the episode. I've sometimes complained about Spongebob reusing episode concepts in the past, but I have never seen an episode like this! I could have sworn I've seen an episode like this in another show though. I can't think of it.
 
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RomNick said:
By the way, have you noticed the tendency to end the episodes on iris shots?


I've noticed that too. It's probably another effort to make the show more Looney Tunes vintage cartoon-esque. Another thing I noticed was how the art seemed to drastically change in the second half of the episode (after SpongeBob and Patrick are nailed to the floor). It looked almost like a completely different cartoon.


And speaking of, like Don't Feed the Clowns, this was another episode basically reliant on slapstick/visual humor. I thought this one was a little more disappointing, because I don't think they did enough with the plot. For one, while there are some good gags, the first half just drags, and basically boils down to a moderately retooled version of The Incredible Shrinking Sponge, with the mini-friends being unable to do things they could otherwise do if they were larger. The Krusty Krab scene is a total bore, and honestly, I think they could've removed it from the episode and nothing of value would be lost. I also wish that SpongeBob and Patrick would've come more to terms with each other and realize what they were doing was wrong; that could've made for a more satisfying conclusion. The current ending is fine, but I think adding that it on would overall make it better. I'm giving this one a 4.5/10 for wasted potential
 

TheGreatServer

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Guys, I like Sportz?, I like Out of the Picture, I like Pat the Horse.

But I didn't like this one, The first weak post-movie episode in my opinion.

The problems have already been pointed out by a lot of people. This episode bores me, and on top of that, the tiny versions of SpongeBob and Patrick cause pain and misery to everyone in this episode.

Is this a bad episode? No, but there's only one reason why this isn't a bad episode in my opinion.

That's near the ending where SpongeBob and Patrick make tiny houses for the tiny versions. This was a sweet moment and the only thing i liked about this episode.

4/10

EDIT: I'll up the grade since none of the things Squidward go through are as bad as Season(s) 4-8. But it's still far from a good episode for me.

5/10
 
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Unpopular opinion but I kind of find this one to be okay/decent. I loved the idea of this episode and yeah, it could have done better with the concept but I liked seeing how SpongeBob and Patrick mistreating their tiny versions and then the tiny version starting to attack them. Some gags did not work out for me but I had some chuckles like tiny Patrick hitting the spatula and close up of too cutesy tiny Patrick. It was satisfying to see tiny versions getting their revenge and later their own home. I wish they would develop SpongeBob and Patrick's friendship here better tho because it's shown they do mistreat each other sometimes just like how they did to their tiny version. But as much as how the concept wasn't executed well, I still got a fun time watching this episode at parts. Minus the ending, it was pretty bad.

Grade: B-
 

mythix super saiyan 4

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Squidwardiard said:
I liked the episode. I've sometimes complained about Spongebob reusing episode concepts in the past, but I have never seen an episode like this! I could have sworn I've seen an episode like this in another show though. I can't think of it.
i think you mean adventure time really this episode of it http://adventuretime.wikia.com/wiki/All_the_Little_People

Ellie Williams said:
I hate the show now but after hearing this episode has a torture scene I had to watch it out of curiosity.
If you hate the show now dude then don't watch no more episodes but that's up to you

The episode isn't nearly that bad, it's not good, but it's better than 80% of the garbage they put out now.
you realize honest slug was joking right
 

Honest Slug

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This episode was quite the disappointment, the premise seemed so great, but the execution was extremely dull. There weren't many jokes at all. The best parts of the episode were just seeing SpongeBob and Patrick interact with their tiny selves and I wish they just expanded on that instead of going the cliche revenge route that has been seen before. Also why did tiny SpongeBob and Patrick randomly switch their designs halfway through? I know this show likes to go off model now, but that's incredibly strange to me.

4/10
 

Matt0417

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[SIZE=11pt]I honestly don’t know what to say about this episode. The comedy is really non-existant in this episode. With the other episodes here, there were at least a few jokes, and 1 or 2 of them that worked. This is one of the most boring post-sequel episodes. Ignoring the blandness, how is the story? It’s tolerable. They could’ve done alot with this idea of mini versions of SpongeBob and Patrick living with the older SpongeBob and Patrick, but it really isn’t played out that well. There really isn’t much else to say.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Rating: 5.5/10 (Meh)[/SIZE]
 

McSponge

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Well, now that March's premieres are through, and I actually have time to catch up on the latest episodes, I gotta say, this is certainly not a good way to start.

Fun-Sized Friends has a very peculiar premise. I'm not exactly sure how to describe my overall mixed feelings on this episode's plot. I don't really find it rather that creative, I guess the way the mini-clones of SpongeBob and Patrick are created is slightly creative, but for the most part, I'd consider this premise to be rather dull. Yes, it is quite an original plot, but it certainly isn't that interesting of one. The clones of SpongeBob and Patrick are essentially uninteresting. Yes, they play a key essential role within the progression of the storyline, but I just don't find their characters to be amusing. They certainly earn a level of sympathy through the "abuse" implemented onto them by SpongeBob and Patrick (Mostly the latter), but other than the fact that the story would be flawed, had SB&P fail to receive any comeuppance for their actions, I don't really have a reason to root for them. They're not that likable of characters, especially the mini Patrick who seems to be nothing more than just spoiled and greedy. Yes, mini Sponge does have a legitimate excuse for us to root for him, but they're just not that likable of characters. Their characteristics hardly even match those of SpongeBob and Patrick's. Goodness, they don't even remotely act like them until the very ending of the episode (Which obviously was only done to get a final laugh out of the audience).

Back to describing the episode's premise, I do think there is a hint of creativity, in the fact that this is a unique way for SpongeBob and Patrick to never have to separate again. The setup to the plot was clever, I will give it that. SpongeBob and Patrick fully express their passionate friendship, which truly gives them a reasonable reason to go through with this plan. I just think the concept of the mini Sponge and mini Pat was executed poorly. The episode generally takes a predictable turn, the two are tormented by their owners (I use tormented lightly, given mini Pat's situation), they have an uprising, revolt against their owners, and their owners in return grant them their own freedom. It's a typical storyline that's been done in the series before in such episodes as Jellyfish Jam and House Worming. The only difference being the setup to this format is completely different from those two episodes. Again, the concept of the mini clones is a fresh, new plotline, one that's new to the series. Is it that good of a plotline though? I'd say it's execution was a failure.

The humor in this episode is super dry. It's not a "crazy" episode (In which at least one character is constantly flipping out for the sake of comedy), but it certainly relies heavily on goofy slapstick humor. But is it clever slapstick humor? No, it's really boring and forgettable slapstick. A good majority of the gags are quite simplistic, most of which dealing with nothing more than the pain inflicted on one of the characters. I honestly didn't find myself laughing at this episode at all, it was a fairly humorless experience, mostly impart of the constant slew of generic slapstick.

As for the characters, I've already expressed my disinterest in mini Sponge and mini Pat. But how are SpongeBob and Patrick themselves? Well, SpongeBob is seemingly harmless. I found the presentation of his character to fit the standard characterization of the Sponge. But how is Patrick? This is a character that has been botched multiple times throughout Season 11 at the extent of a joke. Well, Patrick certainly does slip out of character every now and again throughout this episode. His unusually cruel treatment of mini Sponge does often come out of character. However, Patrick doesn't go out of bound too much throughout the episode, as he's generally pulled back into his usual characteristics. For instance, he's indirectly cruel to the mini Sponge, not intensely cruel, but more out of sheer stupidity. Compare that to Pet Sitter Pat, in which his cruelness came from a source of negligence and ignorance, giving Patrick an attitude that made him appear as not an idiot who doesn't know better, but rather a scumbag who choose to not do the right thing. Then of course, there is Squidward. Is he in character? I'd say so, he's not that funny, but I don't really see any flaws with his character. He does get a little too loud at the ending, but then again he's being "attacked" by two miniature versions of his dreaded neighbors.

In conclusion, I'd say Fun-Sized Friends is a 4/10, it's a Bad Episode. Structurally, there's really nothing wrong with this episode, and there aren't too many problems regarding character flaws, but it's just a dreadful episode to sit through, I certainly did not enjoy watching this episode, it's bare to the bone sense of humor, it's unlikable characters, a generally predictable layout, it's just not my taste.
 

josemiguex

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This feels like a typical season 9a episode: nothing good, nothing bad, just bland, at least there are some bits that made me laugh so I will give this episode a 5.5/10
 
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Wow I didn't think that the reception for this episode was this negative. I actually kind of enjoyed it. It's far from perfect, but it's not bad. Interesting premise, interesting execution.

THE LIST:
1. Scavenger Pants (A+)
2. Teacher's Pests (A+)
3. The Legend Of Boo-Kini Bottom (A+)
4. Squid Noir (A)
5. Chatterbox Gary (A)
6. Man Ray Returns (A)
7. Spin The Bottle (A)
8. Larry The Floor Manager (A)
9. Drive Happy (A)
10. Stuck On The Roof (B)
11. There's A Sponge In My Soup (B)
12. Pat the Horse (B)
13. Spot Returns (B)
14. Fun-Sized Friends (B)
15. Cave Dwelling Sponge (B)
16. The Clam Whisperer (C)
17. No Pictures, Please (C)
18. Cuddle E. Hugs (C)
19. Old Man Patrick (C)
20. Krabby Patty Creature Feature (C)
21. Don't Feed the Clowns (C)
22. The Check-Up (D)
 

CheeseCrocker

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Most of this episode was just SpongeBob and Patrick "taking care" of their little versions and it wasn't that interesting to watch. That torture scene was also horrendous as well as the beginning. I do like the ending, it was kind of funny seeing Squidward being put in the sand, but other than that this episode is bad.

Bad Episode (3/10)
 

Pugs4Thugs

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If I thought “The Incredible Shrinking Sponge” wasn’t my cup of tea, wait til I see “Fun-Sized Friends”. Yeah, I know there’s very few similarities between these two episodes, so what? Let me have this for a second. It’s also the only way I can say anything in this intro about “Fun-Sized Friends”, because I don’t remember a lot about this episode aside from the basic plot, and the fact that I never quite vibed with it.

Right off the bat, this episode starts off with a gorgeous background alert. Well, that’s the right way to start off an episode if you want to get me interested, I can tell you that right now. As for the actual content of this first scene, it consists of SpongeBob and Patrick acting like idiots, “treasuring their time together”, as SpongeBob says. Of course, Squidward has enough of this very quickly, doing his normal Squidward thing of telling them to go home and be quiet. And his phrasing gives SpongeBob an idea…cut off tiny pieces of himself and Patrick so they won’t feel lonely when they have to go home. Well then. That’s…that’s an idea! Who thought of this LMAO.

SpongeBob and Patrick’s tiny versions are a little adorable, I’ll give them that. Okay, I need to give them names so I can distinguish. How about…Mini-Bob and Pat-Teeny? Sound good? Alright, so anyway, SpongeBob and Patrick get ready for bed with the help of Pat-Teeny and Mini-Bob, respectively. The mini versions are treated like an interesting combination of pet and teddy bear. And this is made only more apparent when SpongeBob brings Pat-Teeny to work with him. At the Krusty Krab, Pat-Teeny wants more than the tiny little Krabby Patty SpongeBob gives him, he wants the real thing. Makes sense that a tiny piece of Patrick would act like him, I suppose.

It becomes quickly apparent that Mini-Bob and Pat-Teeny are not…pleased with their situation. Which now reminds me of “Grooming Gary”, especially when we get the close up of SpongeBob brushing Pat-Teeny’s wig. And when SpongeBob comes across Patrick, things are awkward between them, because they have plans with the mini versions of themselves, I guess. I don’t know, this part was weird. And Pat-Teeny and Mini-Bob clearly want to hang out together instead. Then we get more scenes of Pat-Teeny and Mini-Bob being mistreated. Mini-Bob’s especially are just…not fun to watch. Poor little guy. It’s like “The Card” all over again, except worse because Mini-Bob is sentient.

Mini-Bob escapes and breaks out Pat-Teeny, and the two decide it’s time for revenge. As they should. The revenge is lowkey a little graphic though, so not too pleasant for me to watch. Mini-Bob and Pat-Teeny try to live their own lives, but the world’s too big for them. So SpongeBob and Patrick make them houses their own size. But mini Conch Street can’t be without a Squidward, so the two kidnap Squidward lol. Poor guy can’t ever escape haha.

“Fun-Sized Friends” is okay. I feel like more could’ve been done with this one, because as it is, it feels like not enough really happened? Additionally, the humor’s a bit weak. So, the episode is decent, but I think more should’ve happened. I wouldn’t say I was quite bored at any point, but I was definitely approaching that.

Episode Tier: Okay
Episode Score:
6.3/10
 
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