Whirly Brains (Season 10, Episode 1a)
Original Airdate: October 15 2016
Episode 390 in standard order, Episode 387 in airing order
Plot: SpongeBob and Patrick get propellers that allow their brains to fly
Written by Mr Lawrence
[titlecard]205A[/titlecard]
Title Card Music: Unknown Track 2
Whether it be joy, dread, or the smug feeling I’m ahead of PieGuyRulz in his own race, it’s certainly an event that I’ve gotten to the double digit seasons. I was very excited to see what Season 10 had in store back in 2016. Season 9b was hitting all the right notes for me, and I was hoping they could emulate their success for the next batch of episodes, only 13 this time, though soon shortened further to 11. Then the title for the premiere episode caught me off guard, Whirly Brains. I was a little weirded out, though still confident, then the episode actually aired and I was dumbfounded. Not in an overtly bad way, but it felt like another show, specifically Ren & Stimpy. I guess the crew members were turned off by fans saying the show was picking up the wrong notes from that show, so they went ahead and made the animation more in “that vein” than the cruel tone and gross-out. Give this review a whirl and I’ll tell you what I mean.
SpongeBob and Patrick get bored of playing a game where you hit a stick with a cup. I can tell why it seems like no fun to play, that’s the only objective and the rules are very strict. You can’t even use two sticks. They then see a commercial for a new toy called the “wirly brain”, and are mesmorised by it. They drool, get swirly eyes, fight kver the TV and break it, and in this opening scene, you can see all the differences Season 10 has from 9, and practically every other season of the show. The characters move differently, have new sorts of reactions with the ol’ long top lips, and are louder than ever. This gives the show a new identity to say the least, and there are times in these new seasons where it works well. This is not one of those times unfortunately, it’s overstimulating at best.
So SpongeBob and Patrick get their propellor thingies, and scare each other into popping their lids (craniums) off. Now this is a pretty clever gag, making fun out of a visual gag that pops up in these sorts of cartoons and making it a necessary part in putting these crazy new devices on. After this, their brains lift off into the sky, and they can be flown around with remote controls. This raises way too many questions to dwell on, such as how SpongeBob and Patrick are still conscious. Dwelling on them would make you look like the madman though, so it’s best to just sit back and enjoy the ride. Even then, I could cheat and explain it by saying these were prototype perhipherals for the Switch, and Nintendo just crammed that much technology into them.
They mess around for a bit, destroying SpongeBob’s house and playing pranks on their friends, and it’s literally mindless fun for the most part. The Squidward stuff gets too unnatural for my tastes, but I like Gary having his nap disturbed, and Mr Krabs and Mrs Puff dating. Eventually, all the other kids on the block get whirly brains, and eventually get into a race against one of them. How do I feel about this “neighbourhood delinquents” motif? It frankly makes the idea feel less stupid, as it feels like the rest of Bikini Bottom’s in on the jokes now, not just SpongeBob and Patrick. It doesn’t appear for long, but at least it adds a layer of self-awareness to how cheesy the plot is, particularly with the joke of a kid asking his Dad to get one, and him refusing due to his brain being valuable.
Unfortunately, SpongeBob and Patrick’s brains get stolen during the race by an old coot, and they’re left blind and confused. There are a couple painfully dumb jokes where they think other things close by are their brains, despite them being hundreds of metres away from them, but then they call Sandy. She helps them out with her contrived brain detector and locates their brains, and many others, at the old man’s home, and gets into a fight with him. The old man’s played by Ed Asner, who’s a fantastic actor by the way, so I have no trouble believing the old man’s off his meds. He argues with Sandy for a bit, then when all the brains are released he cries saying he just wants to play again. They’re mood swings, but this is a creepy senior we’re dealing with.
At least he gets a happy ending where SpongeBob and Patrick give their whirly brains to them, and they promise not to play with toys that’ll have bad effects on their organs. At least it would be a fine ending if Squidward didn’t scream into my face about how the martians are coming. There’s a lot to take from this episode, not all of it comfortable. There’s too much energy here, too many story beats, and not enough time spent on character development. I’ll give props to the ideas though, they’re all very interesting, and places are gone with them.
An insane amount of the comedy here is physical, as in the way a character says something or just general slapstick. Some of it’s fine, like SpongeBob and Patrick scaring each other with a mask, and Squidward letting his nose hang out. Other jokes are too juvenile for my liking, like SpongeBob and Patrick picking up a loaded diaper and mistaking it for their brains, or Squidward’s mindless screaming over the “martian invasion”. It’s not easy to draw a distinction between what’s “too crazy “ for this episode, or any episode from Season 10 and 11 for that matter, it all comes down to whether the individual finds it funny or not. When the jokes are good here, they’re fine for me. When they’re not, they’re a massive regression from Season 9b’s humour, and possibly even the entire show’s.
The first thing you’ll notice with the animation’s the Ren & Stimpy influence. The way bodies distort, and even the general concept of flying brains fits into that sort of back-alley surrealism. The detatched brains themselves aren’t as scary as they sound on paper, with the eyes for vision being a neat touch for the toy’s intent to “let your mind soar”, and giving the brains more familiarity when disconnected from their owners’ bodies. Furthermore, the design of the old man (who has no name, so just call him the old man voiced by Ed Asner) is creepy and wrinkly, but he can fit any old wily emotion, as seen when he gets grumpy, sad or happy. When the animation here fails, it’s when it gets overambitious. Some movements and visual gags just seem unnatural on a TV animation budget, like Squidward using his tongue as a propellor to fly away.
What this episode fails spectacularly with compared to Season 9b is with characters. SpongeBob’s no longer a well-meaning oddball and Patrick’s no longer ditzy oaf, they’re both mindless idiots. That may have been the intention, but they’re insane even before they get the whirly brains. I can see them being normal at the end when they give away their whirly brains, and I admire that and their pledge to not be no-brainers, but their portrayal here’s still inconsistent. What did they do to Squidward? He only has two scenes, but I’ve never seen him act this mentally unstable. Even if he’s supposed to be afraid of martians, it’d be more interesting and in-character if he tried to adapt them into his culture, by playing them clarinet or showing them his paintings. Instead, he behaves the way Patrick would in this situation, and that’s baffling to say.
As for the Old Man, he’s a genuinely good character. Sure he’s just another plot point thrown in for tension, but I like his old-fashioned hatred for fun, and the justification that he’s sad to be too old for it. The voice acting’s good, as is his design, and despite being shoehorned in, they have fun with him. The neighbourhood kids are also just in this episode for the sake of it, acting like they’re out of the 50s. It adds some flavour to them, as the whirly brains are advertised with that sort of aesthetic, but they come and go a bit too quickly. It’d be cool if SpongeBob and Patrick had to work with them to find their brains again, that way they’re more connected to the Old Man stuff.
We’re barely over with characters, this episode’s jam-packed with them. Sandy’s in this episode for the last few minutes to help SpongeBob and Patrick out, but that’s about all she does. Sure she gets into an entertaining fight with the Old Man, and compliments the boys on giving away their new toys, but she doesn’t really add to the story. Lastly, there’s Mr Krabs and Mrs Puff (Bubble Bass is on the road in the race, though he’s more an obstacle). I really like how they’re dating when SpongeBob and Patrick prank them. It’s good knowing they’re still going at it after 16 years (16 years ago when this episode came out was 2000, when Season 2 started, but now it’s 2002, when Krusty Love actually premiered). I like references like that, and I’m super happy they picked a particularly sweet plotpoint to tease. We all know how much modern animation fans love their shipping.
If you couldn’t tell already, I’m very conflicted on what to think of this episode. It was a shock to the system to see this as the direction they wanted to head in, but we’ve had dozens of episodes since then, each less shocking than the last. Whether that’s because they learned to be more conservative again or if this style’s run its course is up for me to decide over the next couple months. Regardless, I like the creativity in Whirly Brains and what it tried to say. This was a bold statement that they couldn’t play it safe forever. Unfortunately, this episode gets too crazy too often. I like some of the stuff it throws at me, but what am I supposed to make of it after it’s finished? It’s chaotic, but that’s not always a compliment.
Final Verdict: Average 5/10 (a mixed bag)
The Fish Bowl < Whirly Brains < Company Picnic
Question of the Day: What are your thoughts on Season 10?
Get ready for some action tomorrow! Until then,
have some brain music. I used a sample of it in my recent video when talking about Squid Wood, and although it wasn’t the piece that episode focused on the most, it’s still great music.
:sbthumbs:
