EmployeeAMillion
Season 12 Time!
Kracked Krabs (Season 7, Episode 6b)
Original Airdate: September 11 2010*
Episode 255 in standard order, Episode 273 in airing order
*copyrighted 2009
Plot: Mr Krabs is nominated for a crab-based award, and invites SpongeBob to the ceremony
Written by Luke Brookshier, Nate Cash and Mr Lawrence
[titlecard]132B[/titlecard]
Title Card Music: Kalua Jubilee
In my review of Penny Foolish, I pointed to Season 6 as being a turning point in Mr Krabs’ greed and how it affected the stories told on the show, and brought this episode’s up as an example. Looking back on my thoughts of this episode, they’ve always been determined by how seriously I took the show. I didn’t like it at a time when I was being introduced to how terrible of a character he became, but I’ve grown to appreciate how it deals with him being a cheapskate without going overboard in making him unlikeable. However, does this episode succeed on its own merits?
A recurring trend at this point in the show is an opening scene where SpongeBob is making a few jokes in the kitchen unrelated to the episode. This is one of the cases where it starts that way, with him cutting up fries in his head before frying them, only to be called into Mr Krabs’ office. The reason is because they’re going to a cheapskate convention, and I love how the requirement to being a cheapskate is you have to be a crab. That just perfectly gives more meaning behind Mr Krabs’ love of money and how cartoon crabs are often given exaggerated claws, making these particular ones literal penny-pinchers. On the downside, we’re never given a reason as to why Krabs wants SpongeBob to come along with him. Sure it’s nice to see SpongeBob throughout the rest of the episode, but perhaps two words like “fer assitance” or “under cahntract” would’ve given a bit of a richer story.
The way the duo gets to their hotel is by mailing themselves there with a 1¢ tax, but one of Krabs’ competitors gets there through his luggage charge-free. Right off the bat, you’re given a taste of what Krabs’ competition is like, with them all wearing business suits and bearing a lust of cash. Heck, the videos they send in show them being cheap, but in a less funny way than Krabs. I guess the award for the cheapest crab in Bikini Bottom plays out more like a film festival than anything original and engaging. Krabs seems to have the lead, until he tells SpongeBob to go onstage and exaggerate, which he has a hard time doing. Yeah, I know bringing up past skills isn’t something you should do when reviewing SpongeBob characters, but this is a far cry from the comedy prince he was in Squirrel Jokes. It’s more noticeable when he messes up and exaggerates Mr Krabs’ good side, in a display that reminds me of Shell of a Man without the naval/tough guy zing.
This results in Mr Krabs being disqualified, and during this turn of events I’m not thinking “It’s horrible this group of people hates kindness”, I’m instead thinking “Wow, this hotel looks pretty good”. SpongeBob and Mr Krabs think so aswell, as they exaggerate how much they steal, and I think they finally taught their audience a good comedic use for exaggeration. Sure they get caught stealing their entire hotel room which somehow lands Mr Krabs back in first place, but at least you get the right message of what exaggeration is- while Mr Krabs says it’s all about sprinkling lies, kids will pick up on it meaning to make something sound or seem better or worse in some way. While not a perfect package, it’s a story that does its job and I couldn’t ask much more from this season.
Of the episodes in Season 7 so far, this has to be the one most routed in its jokes, but it’s a shame they can be hit-or-miss. There are a few good gags here, like SpongeBob offering daddy names to call Mr Krabs by, to which he rejects each and every one, and the short Mr Krabs presents where he sells free Krabby Patties, but charges his customers for every step they take. However, the bad stuff often falls back on the episode being immature or generic, like SpongeBob being caught between a bellboy’s buttcheeks, and the coin-and-rope trick jokes aren’t as fast or enjoyable as they were before.
As for animation in this episode, I don’t know whether to commend it for giving off so many designs for different crabs, or disappointed they didn’t make them different colours. At least in Squidville, you have all the octopi in Tentacle Acres wear different clothes which broadens their personalities, despite them intentionally being a hivemind at the end of the day. I’m also a little split on whether I should call the design of the hotel good. Sure it has Hawaiian aesthetics and vivid colours, but so has every hotel featured in the series so far. I’d dare even say Krusty Towers still looks a little better than this. The only major gripe I have with the animation is the design of the briefcases when filled to burst, which simply didn’t need to look so crumpled up.
Onto the characters in this episode, I’ll start with SpongeBob. Although he occasionally feels more like filler than a real part of the story, his one blunder in talking about how nice Mr Krabs is is a rather interesting scene. Sure he’s only making things harder for his boss, but it’s in-character for him to get up onstage and spout the positive aspects of his friends, even if this is a situation where he really shouldn’t have. As for the cracked Krabs himself, this episode puts him in a much better light than I remember him to be in. After all, he seemed to be the only crab who wanted to make his video funny, while others just did cheap things. I think this episode could’ve been more interesting if the other crabs hated that video, as he wasn’t being sour enough, with SpongeBob complimenting his actions sealing the deal. Then again, I’m once more spouting suggestions 9 years too late.
In general, Kracked Krabs may just be one of the best episodes of the season so far, but that’s some faint praise. I don’t see myself rewatching this episode in the future unless it’s for a couple specific jokes, even if the story itself is good, and the implication I got from it that “Mr Krabs is different to other crabs because he has a genuine, honest employee at his side” is a much better description than this episode deserves. Heck, it’s ironic that an episode that teaches about exaggeration is one that I can’t really exaggerate my feelings about to conclude the review. That doesn’t make it a mediocre package, just serviceable.
2 (Scummy)
12. A Pal for Gary
11. Someone’s in the Kitchen with Sandy
3 (Bad)
10. Stuck in the Wringer
9. Tentacle Vision
8. Keep Bikini Bottom Beautiful
4 (Bad)
7. Greasy Buffoons
6. Yours, Mine and Mine
5 (Average)
5. I <3 Dancing
4. Growth Spout
6 (Average)
3. Kracked Krabs
2. The Inside Job
7 (Good)
1. Model Sponge
Question of the Day: If you were to take part in this contest, what would be the prank you film?
HARDMODE: You can’t go to Japan and film a dead body.
Tomorrow’s episode is wetter and better, take it from me.
:sbthumbs:
Original Airdate: September 11 2010*
Episode 255 in standard order, Episode 273 in airing order
*copyrighted 2009
Plot: Mr Krabs is nominated for a crab-based award, and invites SpongeBob to the ceremony
Written by Luke Brookshier, Nate Cash and Mr Lawrence
[titlecard]132B[/titlecard]
Title Card Music: Kalua Jubilee
In my review of Penny Foolish, I pointed to Season 6 as being a turning point in Mr Krabs’ greed and how it affected the stories told on the show, and brought this episode’s up as an example. Looking back on my thoughts of this episode, they’ve always been determined by how seriously I took the show. I didn’t like it at a time when I was being introduced to how terrible of a character he became, but I’ve grown to appreciate how it deals with him being a cheapskate without going overboard in making him unlikeable. However, does this episode succeed on its own merits?
A recurring trend at this point in the show is an opening scene where SpongeBob is making a few jokes in the kitchen unrelated to the episode. This is one of the cases where it starts that way, with him cutting up fries in his head before frying them, only to be called into Mr Krabs’ office. The reason is because they’re going to a cheapskate convention, and I love how the requirement to being a cheapskate is you have to be a crab. That just perfectly gives more meaning behind Mr Krabs’ love of money and how cartoon crabs are often given exaggerated claws, making these particular ones literal penny-pinchers. On the downside, we’re never given a reason as to why Krabs wants SpongeBob to come along with him. Sure it’s nice to see SpongeBob throughout the rest of the episode, but perhaps two words like “fer assitance” or “under cahntract” would’ve given a bit of a richer story.
The way the duo gets to their hotel is by mailing themselves there with a 1¢ tax, but one of Krabs’ competitors gets there through his luggage charge-free. Right off the bat, you’re given a taste of what Krabs’ competition is like, with them all wearing business suits and bearing a lust of cash. Heck, the videos they send in show them being cheap, but in a less funny way than Krabs. I guess the award for the cheapest crab in Bikini Bottom plays out more like a film festival than anything original and engaging. Krabs seems to have the lead, until he tells SpongeBob to go onstage and exaggerate, which he has a hard time doing. Yeah, I know bringing up past skills isn’t something you should do when reviewing SpongeBob characters, but this is a far cry from the comedy prince he was in Squirrel Jokes. It’s more noticeable when he messes up and exaggerates Mr Krabs’ good side, in a display that reminds me of Shell of a Man without the naval/tough guy zing.
This results in Mr Krabs being disqualified, and during this turn of events I’m not thinking “It’s horrible this group of people hates kindness”, I’m instead thinking “Wow, this hotel looks pretty good”. SpongeBob and Mr Krabs think so aswell, as they exaggerate how much they steal, and I think they finally taught their audience a good comedic use for exaggeration. Sure they get caught stealing their entire hotel room which somehow lands Mr Krabs back in first place, but at least you get the right message of what exaggeration is- while Mr Krabs says it’s all about sprinkling lies, kids will pick up on it meaning to make something sound or seem better or worse in some way. While not a perfect package, it’s a story that does its job and I couldn’t ask much more from this season.
Of the episodes in Season 7 so far, this has to be the one most routed in its jokes, but it’s a shame they can be hit-or-miss. There are a few good gags here, like SpongeBob offering daddy names to call Mr Krabs by, to which he rejects each and every one, and the short Mr Krabs presents where he sells free Krabby Patties, but charges his customers for every step they take. However, the bad stuff often falls back on the episode being immature or generic, like SpongeBob being caught between a bellboy’s buttcheeks, and the coin-and-rope trick jokes aren’t as fast or enjoyable as they were before.
As for animation in this episode, I don’t know whether to commend it for giving off so many designs for different crabs, or disappointed they didn’t make them different colours. At least in Squidville, you have all the octopi in Tentacle Acres wear different clothes which broadens their personalities, despite them intentionally being a hivemind at the end of the day. I’m also a little split on whether I should call the design of the hotel good. Sure it has Hawaiian aesthetics and vivid colours, but so has every hotel featured in the series so far. I’d dare even say Krusty Towers still looks a little better than this. The only major gripe I have with the animation is the design of the briefcases when filled to burst, which simply didn’t need to look so crumpled up.
Onto the characters in this episode, I’ll start with SpongeBob. Although he occasionally feels more like filler than a real part of the story, his one blunder in talking about how nice Mr Krabs is is a rather interesting scene. Sure he’s only making things harder for his boss, but it’s in-character for him to get up onstage and spout the positive aspects of his friends, even if this is a situation where he really shouldn’t have. As for the cracked Krabs himself, this episode puts him in a much better light than I remember him to be in. After all, he seemed to be the only crab who wanted to make his video funny, while others just did cheap things. I think this episode could’ve been more interesting if the other crabs hated that video, as he wasn’t being sour enough, with SpongeBob complimenting his actions sealing the deal. Then again, I’m once more spouting suggestions 9 years too late.
In general, Kracked Krabs may just be one of the best episodes of the season so far, but that’s some faint praise. I don’t see myself rewatching this episode in the future unless it’s for a couple specific jokes, even if the story itself is good, and the implication I got from it that “Mr Krabs is different to other crabs because he has a genuine, honest employee at his side” is a much better description than this episode deserves. Heck, it’s ironic that an episode that teaches about exaggeration is one that I can’t really exaggerate my feelings about to conclude the review. That doesn’t make it a mediocre package, just serviceable.
2 (Scummy)
12. A Pal for Gary
11. Someone’s in the Kitchen with Sandy
3 (Bad)
10. Stuck in the Wringer
9. Tentacle Vision
8. Keep Bikini Bottom Beautiful
4 (Bad)
7. Greasy Buffoons
6. Yours, Mine and Mine
5 (Average)
5. I <3 Dancing
4. Growth Spout
6 (Average)
3. Kracked Krabs
2. The Inside Job
7 (Good)
1. Model Sponge
Question of the Day: If you were to take part in this contest, what would be the prank you film?
HARDMODE: You can’t go to Japan and film a dead body.
Tomorrow’s episode is wetter and better, take it from me.
:sbthumbs: